How to keep daylight saving time: Starting early (2026)

Daylight saving time Coming up, which is my least favorite version of the dreaded time change.

Losing a watch ruins everyone’s sleep in my house. It was one thing when it was just a couple of grumpy adults, but now we have a 3-year-old who doesn’t understand the meaning of daylight saving time or why he has to go to bed earlier than he did the night before. Sure, we’d all love the brighter evenings, but why should they disappear in the first place?

The best way to survive this madness is to start early. The scientists and brands I spoke to gave me the same advice: Start a few days early by setting your alarm 15 to 20 minutes earlier to make the time change a transition rather than a harsh loss of an hour come Sunday morning.

For me and my baby, it’s not just about the audible alarm when I’m going to change my clothes, but also at our bedside Sunrise alarm clocks. Light is one of the biggest things that can affect your circadian rhythm, and a loud alarm clock never cut it for me anyway. Here’s how hopefully a little extra light in the morning will make the whole transition easier for my family.

Start early

Waiting to deal with the time change is a recipe for serious discomfort. “Our bodies can’t move an entire hour in one day,” says Emily Manoogian, a scientist at the Salk Institute. “So, if you can break it up over two to three days, that makes it a lot easier. This is like changing your food, light, and sleep times 20 to 30 minutes in advance for a few days before the daylight saving time change.”

Light and food synchronize your body clock, so these are good signals of change to help your body naturally adjust to the upcoming time change, Manoogian says. She says animal studies show that changing the time of eating breakfast and dinner in conjunction with the time change can help you adapt faster and return to normal life.

It will take more effort to set your alarm every morning, but it’s better to do more now than to feel groggy and overwhelmed next week. Manoogian says that acute circadian disruptions such as shifts in daylight saving time can lead to many health problems, including insulin resistance, gut problems, anxiety, depression, and increased risky behaviors.

Just add light

Manoogian isn’t the only one who suggests starting early. both of them Hatch Lumie, the maker of sunrise alarms, gave me the same advice: Change the alarms a few days early. They both also recommend using light to your advantage.

“Light is one of the most powerful cues to reset your internal clock, which is why exposure to morning light is especially beneficial after the transition to daylight saving time,” says a Hatch representative.

While the Lumie and Hatch both make great sunrise alarms, they work differently. Restore Hatch 3 ($170) It connects to Wi-Fi, so it can automatically update the time without you having to change anything once daylight saving time arrives. You’ll also be able to easily set the alarm time in the Hatch app, allowing you to make quick adjustments as long as you’re within Bluetooth range of the recovery. The brand also introduced a Daylight Saving Time Assistant For use with children’s devices such as Hatch Baby ($100), Which can automatically change a child’s schedule in small increments over several days.

The Lumie, on the other hand, doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi or the app, so you need to manually change alarms and clock time. You’ll need to toggle this each night yourself before changing the time, as well as toggle the entire time during Saturday night and return the alarm to its original time. Although it takes a little more work, Lumie alarm clocks are similar Bodyclock Lux 700FM ($259) and Bodyclock Shine 300 ($169) Brighter than the aperture, so it’s still a good investment.

Models that are worth tearing up

Looking for a new sunrise alarm before Sunday? Here are the ones to get.