I'm going to share with you today some really important things about the autumn clock change, and recap for you the different approaches that I have shared in the previous blogs, so that you're fully equipped and are ready to make a decision on how you're going to navigate the autumn clock change.
First up, this autumn clock change, it's a pickle. Not quite such a pickle as the spring one, let's face it. We would always rather gain an hour sleep than lose one. Let me share with you a few facts that you may not know, but to help you see the significance and the impact that this measly one hour can really have on our lives. First of all, when we change clocks around just an hour's difference can cause a lot of havoc.
Particularly in the spring, when we spring forward, we see an increase, in the following days after the clock change, there is an increase in road traffic accidents, fatal accidents on the road, there's reports of higher incidences in the workplace and injuries. We've got cardiovascular and neurological related complexities as well. All those have been shown to increase and rise on those days after. The impact on our sleep is huge. But what's, I think, fascinating, and this is a really fascinating fact, is that in the autumn clock change, some of these things have been shown to reduce. So for instance, strokes, heart attacks, road traffic accidents, they've actually been seen to fall down to unusually low levels, on the days following the autumn clock change, which suggests, and studies have shown, that the extra hour is really, really beneficial.
So losing an hour can be detrimental, gaining an hour can be beneficial.
Either way, moving it around can really mess us up. As a parent, do we really gain an hour? I think the days of the autumn clock change, meaning, "Yeah, an extra hour in bed," is just not true when you become a parent. You don't get that anymore because there's a good chance that your child or little one is going to wake at the same time anyway because they take some time to adjust, and then you actually end up losing an hour and feeling worse because the number on the clock is worse. So it's more difficult for parents and that's why I'm here to help you.
Now that you understand the importance of this, and you understand how it's not just an hour, and yeah, it doesn't matter, because it really does matter. I'm going to remind you of the three approaches that I have given you. Go back and check them out if you would like more detail or read on for a recap of each.
The first is the gradual approach. This is where you're going to move bedtime later by 15 minutes from Wednesday to Saturday, the four nights leading up to the clock change. So 15 minutes later for four nights.
The second option is the halfway, the meeting in the middle, where we go for just 30 minutes later on Saturday night, just 30 minutes later with bedtime for the autumn clock change.
The third one is all in one go. And it's where on Saturday night we let our little one stay up an hour longer, and they go to bed one hour later than usual on the Saturday night.
They're the three ways that you can approach this, depending on whether your child is super sensitive to time differences, super sensitive to their routine and their wake-up times, you might want to take it gradually, and if they're very alert.
If they're more easygoing, they're more flexible, more adaptable, then you might want to go for the meet in the middle, or maybe you'd want to go for the whole thing and do all in one go, if they're really, really flexible, and perhaps a little bit older as well.
I hope you have found there's a little series of clock change tips, helpful. We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions at all.
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