The clock has gone forward an hour.
This weekend, daylight saving time started, which means the clocks went forward one hour. The good news is that from now on it will stay light longer in the evening, but the bad news is that an hour will be taken off our sleeping time. And that also has an effect on your body.
Implications
Entering summer time has advantages for many people: it is light longer in the evening, which gives us more energy and makes us more eager to do things. But it also means that your body is taken out of your familiar 24-hour rhythm. This is quite an attack on your body; it even goes so far that the number of traffic accidents during rush hour, mistakes at work and heart attacks on the Monday after the start of summer time is no less than five percent higher than normal.
This is how you survive
To keep the impact on your body as small as possible and to quickly get used to the new time, you can follow the following tips. This is how you quickly get back in line:
1. Take a morning walk
By catching natural daylight in the morning, your body produces melatonin in the evening. This allows you to sleep better and prevents you from tossing and turning for hours only to wake up tired the next day.
2. Avoid blue light
It can be very tempting to scroll through your Facebook timeline or play a game in bed, but it is better to avoid this blue light coming from your phone. The blue light has the same effect on your body as morning light, signaling your brain that it is not yet time to go to sleep.
3. Try a relaxation exercise
Do you get to bed on time but can’t fall asleep because your body tells you that it really is an hour earlier? Then try a relaxing breathing exercise. This makes you calmer, which makes it easier to fall asleep.
4. Don’t sleep in too late
Even though you have had little sleep due to the start of summer time and you are tired; Don’t sleep longer than 1.5 hours on weekends. This will cause your biological clock to become even more out of rhythm than it already is.
Source: Tips and Facts | Image: Adobe Stock
