Switch Back To Standard Time Can Be Tough Adjustment For Some
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's that time of year again. We're setting the clocks back to Standard Time. But the adjustment can be challenging for people dealing with sleep issues or insomnia.
It's normal to feel sleepy after the switch to Standard Time, despite the extra hour of sleep.
"The body has to adjust to that time changes over the course of a few days or maybe even a week," Dr. Karl Doghramji is Director of the Sleep Disorders center at Thomas Jefferson University. "It does not do so rapidly. So just because the time around us changes, doesn't mean that our bodies will follow instantaneously. In some of us that change, in fact, does occur very quickly. But in some of us it may take two three or even four days to catch up with the change in time."
Dr. Doghramji recommends resisting the urge to go to bed earlier and says people should try to stay on your regular sleep schedule. Getting plenty of sunlight during the day also helps keep sleep rhythms on track.
He also suggests avoiding caffeine, alcohol and light-emitting devices like cell phones and televisions near bedtime.
Doghramji adds that it the adjustment becomes more difficult with age.