"Springing ahead" rules for teens (or anyone who struggles to get up in the morning)


Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 10th. This was a bummer before I had kids, as it meant losing an hour of sleep. I would feel pretty cruddy for about a week afterwards.

Then, my kids were early risers, so I liked it. Why? The beginning of DST shifts their apparent wake time a bit earlier. So a kid who was waking up at 5:30 AM was getting up at 6:30 AM literally overnight. (A "later" bedtime was the cost of this but I'm not a morning lark, so it was a fair trade-off).

However, I think it will be painful again as I now two teenagers in my house. It's hard if if someone in your house (be it an older child, teenager, or ahem yourself) struggles to get up in the morning. If you know someone who is already struggling to get up in the morning, here's an article I wrote on avoiding trouble when "springing ahead".


Craig

PS Sorry to be getting this out a bit late this week-- had some unexpected issues to deal with this week.


Craig Canapari MD

I'm a pediatric sleep doctor, author, and in my day job I run the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center. I've been writing about pediatric sleep issues for tired parents since 2012. Join my newsletter to get the best information about sleep problems (and solutions) in children.

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