Managing the October Clock Change For Your Little One

Why does the clock change happen?

On Sunday 29th October at 2am the clocks will fall back an hour here in the UK. This is part of the biannual Daylight Saving Time where the UK switches from BST (British Summer Time) to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

It was first introduced in the early 20th century to save on energy consumption. The idea to bring lighter mornings in winter and lighter evenings in summer. During WW1 Daylight Saving Time was started to reduce coal consumption during the war efforts. Click here to find out more about its history. After the clock change next week, we will for a short time have lighter mornings before we gradually approach the winter solstice - aka the shortest day of the year.

What does it mean for your child’s sleep routine?

If your little one is quite happy with their routine and it works for you, often the clock change can cause a short-term disruption. The once 6:30am wake up becomes 5:30am! Not ideal for anyone in the house if the day starts too early. The early start can then upset the rest of the day; naps need to be earlier, they become grouchier if they are awake too long before a nap, then bedtime comes forward due to being tired earlier, leading to another early start!
You can fall into what I call the ‘clock change chase’ where everything gets shifted forward to try and catch up with your old routine and timings.

So, how can you reduce the disruption?

Don’t worry, this all sounds quite stressful and daunting, but there are simple measures you can take to minimise the clock change disruption for your little one.

The Gradual Approach:

This starts a week before the clock change. So if you’re reading this as I’ve released this blog on Monday – that’s today!

This evening for bedtime, you are going to delay the time you place your little one in their cot/bed by 15 minutes. You can do this by starting the bedtime routine slightly later or making bath time slightly longer for example. You will keep this time for the following night, then every 2 nights delay by another 15 minutes. A small increment of 15 minutes will not cause overtiredness but slowly over the week, you will reach the ‘new’ bedtime of an hour later. See below.

Example bedtime approach for the clock change.

So as you can see by this example, you are ready for the usual bedtime by Sunday. 8pm will become 7pm by Sunday evening.
The important thing to mention with this gradual approach is it requires you to shift the rest of the day too, not just bedtime.

So nap times will need to be 15 minutes later and mealtimes later too. This can feel like a lot of extra effort and if you’ve got a busy week ahead, it just might not be the appropriate option for you.

The Quick Approach:

It’s been a busy week and you haven’t got round to adjusting the full day’s routine ready for the clock change. Instead you have a couple of days to work with, so this is what you can do.

The night before the clock change (Friday night), you’re going to delay bedtime by 30 minutes. Like above, this can be done by extending bath time or choosing one more book to read! Try and make lights out later than usual. Then come Saturday morning, you want to try and encourage a later start to the day. If they’re awake at their usual time of 6:30am for example, maybe take a book into their cot for them to read whilst staying in their sleep space for as long as they will tolerate.

Alternatively, if they become upset when you leave the room, you can instead keep the room dark (curtains still closed) and sort out their clothes/tidy their room for 10-15 minutes. The idea here is you are starting the day slightly later so that again bedtime will be later for the final night before the clock change. For the rest of this day, you want to as best you can, delay the days activities (meals and naps) to prepare your little one for the change.

The ‘Oops I Forgot’ Approach:

You’ve forgotten about the clock change, it’s Saturday and you’re dreading the Sunday early morning. I’m always forgetting about the clock change until it’s that weekend, you’re not alone!
So for this approach, there isn’t time for any adjustments to routine, you have to just go forth with confidence and lots of coffee! No, I’m kidding, it isn’t that drastic. My biggest tip here would be to ensure you have an active day for your little one. Think sensory experiences – swings at the park, swimming, splashing in the puddles, scooters. The aim is to increase their sleep pressure ready for bedtime. See how they are leading up to bedtime and you may be able to delay bedtime by 15 minutes or so. This isn’t going to miraculously give you a normal wake-up come Sunday morning, but a busy day outside will ensure your little one is sufficiently tired.

It will then take them a few days or a week to fully adjust to the new timings. You won’t be the only one dealing with this though, it can be tough and frustrating but stick with it. Watch out for tired cues and ensure nap times are appropriate during the day. You don’t want a nap to finish too close to bedtime for instance. If you need support with this, just get in touch.

Extra Tips

Get outside in daylight

One of my simple yet effective pieces of advice for supporting sleep is to get outside each day. Natural light plays a significant role in regulating our internal clocks, exposure to it during the day improves our ability to have a restful night’s sleep. This is especially important when adjusting to the clock change and encouraging a smooth transition. After the October clock change, the mornings will get lighter a lot earlier than recent weeks. Use this daylight to your advantage and open the curtains at wake up to stimulate that body clock right from the start of the day.
This also applies for the evening too – removing the light exposure during the bedtime routine will help increase the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Blue light from unnatural sources such as TVs and Ipads tricks the body clock into thinking it is still day time. Avoiding these at least an hour before bed will support a healthy sleep ahead.

Consistency

I always ramble on about consistency when it comes to sleep in children. But it is SO important! Children thrive off of routine and knowing what is coming next. It helps them to feel safe and regulates their emotions, therefore supporting their development. The bedtime routine should be exactly that – a predictable routine that happens each night to signal it is now time for sleep. If you have a consistent bedtime routine, you should see less disruption during the clock changes due to the associations already in place for sleep.

How to deal with the early waking after the clock change?

Ok I am under no illusion that adjusting to the clock change will be so straightforward and without atleast one early morning. Yes, if you follow the gradual approach this should be minimised but children are not one size fits all and sometimes it doesn’t go as textbook as we might like! So if you are faced with a 5am or 4am start due to the clock change, here’s what to do.

Treat it like a wake up in the middle of the night
Minimal engagement, quiet voice and no lights turned on. You want them to think it is still night-time and not the start of the day. You could give them a cuddle, tell them it isn’t the morning just yet and give them their favourite toy to cuddle. If this fails, maybe try a book for them to read to themselves. The idea is you only want to start the day (open curtains, happy good morning interactions) when it is the correct time of the day. Slowly with consistency and patience, your little one will start to adjust to the new timings that you are putting in place.

 Just Remember…

The clock change doesn’t need to be a worry. If you are being consistent and have boundaries in place, your little one should adapt soon enough. Just like for adults; it can be tough the first few days and feel a bit strange, but over time you just fall into the new routine.

If you feel you need some help with implementing a routine and need support with consistency, get in touch. I make it easy to reach your ideal routine by creating a simple, easy to follow plan. We first have a chat about your current situation and problem you’re facing and I let you know how I can help improve your little ones sleep.

To get in touch:

You can send me an email at katie@athenasleep.co.uk

Or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook. Click below to go to my Instagram page, where you’ll find lots of useful sleep advice.

Here’s to a seamless transition and a peaceful night’s sleep for everyone!

Katie x

Founder of Athena Sleep Co.
Paediatric Nurse.