Fall Back

Oh, time change, how I dislike you very, very, very much. (Hate is a strong word.)
Many of my readers are from Arizona, so this doesn’t apply to you as much. But I think the suggestions I am going to make are great whenever you cross time zones.
One of my family members once asked me if an hour really made a difference. Believe it or not, but it is a huge difference for me.
When you Spring Forward, you lose an hour. The light is different. It is more difficult to get to bed on time for your workweek. And if you have things to do on Sunday mornings like I do you are already running late when you wake up.
When you Fall Back, you gain an hour. But really, I gain nothing. On Sundays I normally roll out of bed around 7. So that means I am up by 6. Yippee! I am pretty much off the whole day and sometimes into the week. My body has to try to go to bed an hour earlier on Sunday night. Which these days is not much of a problem. I am normally exhausted around 8. On school nights I try to go to bed between 9 and 9:30.
Anyway, there are ways to help your body adapt to time change, whether it is an hour (or several hours when traveling over time zones).
I write about the time change when we Spring Forward and when we Fall Back.
My advice to all who need some extra help tomorrow morning:

• Don’t go to bed too late tonight.
  
• Make sure you have breakfast tomorrow.
  
• Try not to eat a lot of crap. Stick to fruits and veggies as snacks instead of sugary or salty foods.
  
• Drink lots of water tomorrow (but also today and always).
  
• Exercise. (I will be going to a yoga class tomorrow morning) Even going for a walk will be helpful.
  
• Keep up the exercise throughout the week, especially on Monday. It will be tough, but well worth it.
  
• If you do nap tomorrow (I love my weekend naps), don’t nap too late.
  
• If caffeine really affects you (doesn’t really for me) maybe cut back tomorrow and definitely don’t have it too late in the day.
  
• Don’t drink too much alcohol, especially too late in the day/evening.
  
• Melatonin is a natural hormone found in our bodies. You can buy it over the counter to help with sleep. My doctor recently advised me to try melatonin to help with my sleep issues. It helps me sleep. But I wouldn’t advise trying it for the first time tomorrow night, especially the day before you have to go to work. Talk to your doctor about it. Try it a night before you don’t have to go to work.
  
• Try to start winding your day down an hour before you go to bed. If you normally go to bed around 10, then at 9 make sure you are done for the day and ready for Monday’s workday. Do something relaxing for that hour: read a book, knit, lounge, take a bath. Even practice a Restorative Yoga pose or two. A few poses I like are:Legs Up the Wall; Supportive Child’s Pose; Supported Twist; Instant Maui; and Savasana are just a few you can do. Hold these poses for at least 10 minutes each. This video shows some poses.