Sleep specialist shares tips for adjusting to end of daylight saving time

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 1, and clocks go back one hour this weekend.

Some people see “falling back” as adding an hour of sleep. Memorial Hospital sleep specialist Dr. John Douglas said the extra hour could still affect sleep quality.

Light affects circadian rhythm

Douglas said light affects a person’s circadian rhythm the most.

“I tell all my patients that it’s kind of like caveman days, you know, cave women days. You wake up with the sunrise, and you go to sleep when the sun goes down,” Douglas said.

He said people should turn on every light, open the drapes and look at the reflected sunlight as soon as it comes up after waking at the new time.

“So, that’ll set the clock in your brain as sunrise,” Douglas said.

Douglas said it takes approximately three days for someone to adjust to the one-hour difference.

Coast residents share opinions

Coast residents gave mixed opinions on the time change. Some said the extra sleep is good. Others said it is too confusing to keep changing.

“I think time change is a mess. It should stay the same all year long. It should never go back and forth back and forth. It’s too confusing,” Don Sweat said.

Glenn Marie said people are used to the time change.

“So, we know that when it starts getting cold, it’s also going to be dark and I think the adjustment of not having that might be just too much for everybody. Nobody wants change, we’ve got too much of it already,” Marie said.

Gracie Bonner said the change does not matter to her.

“I just don’t think at this point it’s really worth it to go to bed and it’s dark. It just don’t make any difference to me honestly,” Bonner said.

Patrice Bovo said she sees daylight saving time as a good thing.

“When the kids have to go and get on the bus in the dark and when everybody comes home in the dark and everything. So, I think it’s a good thing,” Bovo said.

Tristan Farmer said he likes the change.

“Time change that comes later and the time change that’s about to come, I like both to be honest,” Farmer said.

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