Hard Time Sleeping During Time Changes? CRMC Expert Has Advice

Did this weekend’s time change interrupt your sleeping patterns?

The Cookeville Regional Sleep Center’s Lori Joines said time change sleep issues are quite common. Joines said when your biological wake and sleep clock, is disrupted, it can lead to problems.

“When we go through either the spring forward, where we lose an hour of sleep, or even now the fall back, where we gain an hour of sleep, that is a shift in our typical circadian rhythm of wake and sleep,” Joines said. “And we have to adjust accordingly.”

Joines said there are things you can do to deal with the disruption such as light therapy and chronotherapy. Joines said chronotherapy involves practicing small daily repetitive advances in sleep and wake time, rising and sleeping earlier each day. Joines said light therapy simply involves placing yourself in front of light sources each day to fight off natural melatonin.

“Light therapy can be artificial,” Joines said. “Meaning that there are means of purchasing extra light sources through online where the light is in your face, it tells your brain to stay awake, it is a stimulant the brain.”

Joines said light therapy simply seeks to correct the elongated amount of time that many citizens spend in darkness this time of year.

“They may go to work and it’s dark, they may travel home and it’s dark,” Joines said. “So they really are having very limited sun exposure.”

Joines said that without care disruptions to someone’s sleep schedule can affect physical and mental health. Joines said participating in activities such as working out while conducting light therapy can help with both physical and mental health for citizens.

Joines is a Board Certified Advanced Practiced Registered Nurse.