By Donna Hayden, Director of Cardiopulmonary at Central Florida Regional Hospital

You probably feel a little tired and even more stressed after a time change. But don’t worry: It takes 2-3 days for your body to adjust to daylight savings time. To help you with your spring forward, here are a few helpful tips:

• Exposure to light help’s your internal clock reset itself. So get outside and ride your bike or take a long walk with your extra hour of sunshine.
• Slow down and let your body adjust. Don’t try to pack too much into those first few days after the time change.
• Don’t nap. Try to get to bed a little earlier even if you have to block the light in your windows with a heavy blanket. Darkness is very important. (Think about what our night shift has to go through.)
• Gradually move your wake up time by 15 minutes a day until you adjust. This way your body has time to adjust prior to the actual Daylight Savings Time change.
• Avoid increasing your caffeine intake and increase your water consumption.
• Remember that stress levels, concentration, and productivity can all be affected by daylight savings time and it helps to prepare ahead.

For more information on getting a good night’s sleep, visit Central Florida Regional Hospital’s Sleep Laboratory.