The most useful preparation is modest: protect your usual sleep opportunity, keep your routine steady, and use daylight to cue your wake time. Daylight savings effects on sleep are usually discussed as if everyone loses or gains exactly an hour, but research finds varied responses. A gradual schedule shift may make the change feel easier; it has not been established as a guaranteed way to prevent sleep loss or grogginess.
What Daylight Savings Effects Are Known?
When clocks move forward in spring, the clock jumps ahead an hour. That can mean less sleep on the transition night, darker mornings and more evening light. In autumn, clocks move back and the night appears an hour longer, but that extra clock hour does not guarantee an extra hour of sleep.
In a 2024 Journal of Sleep Research study, Melanie A. de Lange and colleagues analyzed accelerometer data from 11,780 UK Biobank participants aged 43 to 78. The data covered days around the spring and autumn changes in 2013 and 2015. On the spring-change Sunday, participants slept an average of 65 minutes less than on the Sunday before and 61 minutes less than on the Sunday after. On the autumn-change Sunday, they slept 33 minutes more than the Sunday before and 38 minutes more than the Sunday after.
Those averages describe a UK sample and comparisons between different participants; they do not predict exactly what you will experience. The researchers also saw some evidence of catch-up sleep during the following weekdays. A 2025 systematic review by Andrea Romigi and colleagues, covering 27 studies of people aged 6 to 85, found spring changes were associated with shorter or poorer sleep and more daytime sleepiness, particularly among evening chronotypes. However, study methods and results varied. A broader 2026 review by Aiste Steponenaite and colleagues, covering 157 studies from 36 countries, concluded that clock changes were not uniformly harmful and that evidence on sleep and circadian effects remained limited.
Can You Shift Your Schedule Gradually?
If you have several days before the change, you can try moving bedtime and wake time a little toward the new schedule rather than making the full adjustment in one night. Before the spring change, that means edging them earlier while keeping enough time for sleep. There is not strong evidence here that a particular shifting schedule prevents the effects, so treat it as an option for comfort, not a proven fix.
For the autumn change, you do not need to force yourself to use the apparent extra hour for sleep. Keep your normal sleep routine and let your wakefulness and tiredness guide the adjustment. For either transition, avoid turning preparation into lost sleep: cutting your rest short to “get ahead” could work against the goal.
Use Light And Routine As Cues
Light helps set your body’s circadian timing. The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health explains that morning light can support wakefulness, while light later in the evening can delay sleep. After a spring change, getting daylight after you wake may help reinforce the start of your day. If falling asleep at your usual time is difficult, reducing bright light late in the evening is a reasonable step. The right timing depends on your local sunrise, sunset and schedule; there is no single light plan that fits everyone.
Try to keep your usual bedtime routine and wake time as consistent as your obligations allow. Adults are advised to get at least seven hours of sleep; the clock change is not a reason to plan for less. If you feel unusually sleepy, allow extra margin for tasks that require alertness, including driving.
Check Whether Your Clocks Change
Daylight saving time is not observed everywhere, and transition dates differ by location. As of 2025, changes took place in most European countries, most US states and Canadian provinces, New Zealand, and a few Australian states, among other places. Many locations do not change their clocks at all. Because seasons are reversed across the hemispheres, the spring and autumn transitions also occur at different times of year. Check your local calendar rather than relying on a date used in another country.
If your sleep difficulty or marked daytime sleepiness continues beyond the adjustment period, or affects your safety, speak with a clinician. If you are also adjusting to a trip across time zones, this guide to timing light for eastward travel covers a different situation that may need a separate plan.
