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Daylight Saving – Tips for Sleep Success!

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Diane Dauphinais
Wednesday, 23 October 2019 / Published in Daylight Savings, Sleep Tips, Time Change
There is a 24% increase in heart attacks the Monday after we lose one hour of sleep in the Spring and a 21 % decrease in the Fall when we gain an hour. This is good news for the upcoming time change but it still disrupts our internal sleep clock when we have an extra hour of sleep.
What can we do to avoid the disruption to our sleep and our overall health when the clocks change on Sunday, November 3rd, 2019?
1. Avoid too much caffeine
Many of us depend on our morning cup of coffee to help get our days going — and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re constantly refilling your mug throughout the day you will want to cut back.
Practise no caffeine after lunchtime. The effects of caffeine can linger for many hours after being consumed and can hinder you from sleep. In fact, even if you drink caffeine six hours before bedtime, you’re still likely to lose a full hour of sleep.
2. Move slowly into the time change
Go to bed 15 minutes earlier the night before and then 30 minutes the next night. The circadian rhythm is so strong that it can take time for your body to adjust going to bed earlier. Having a relaxing bedtime routine, free from electronics will help reset your body’s internal clock.
Example:
  • Get into comfortable pajamas.
  • Read or take a bath with dim lights.
  • Drink chamomile tea.
  • Keep your bedroom cool and bedroom free from clutter.
  • Turn lights out.
3. Stick to a set sleep schedule
Once you’ve settled into the new time, make a point to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends. This will help your body regulate its sleep cycle.
4. Take a nap
If you feel sluggish in the afternoon, take a nap, but no more than 20-30 minutes. If the nap begins to run too close to the late afternoon or early Evening it can disrupt your evening sleep. Before 2:00 p.m. is recommended.
5. To feel fully adjusted, give yourself a week or so
Honouring your sleep will only help make the transition easier. It is never too late to implement positive changes to your sleep.

 

If you are struggling with sleep, your health, and feel increasingly more stressed with less hours in your day to do it all, you are not alone. I would like to chat more about your sleep challenges so that you can be your best self again! I welcome you to schedule a free Discovery call here – https://my.timetrade.com/book/6PZFG

Sleep well,

Diane

 

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It’s Time To Fall Back!

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Diane Dauphinais
Tuesday, 31 October 2017 / Published in Daylight Savings, Sleep Tips, Sleep Training, Time Change

Daylight savings time is coming up this weekend! I get a TON of questions asking for the best way to handle daylight savings time and children’s sleep. So what is the best way to handle it? My advice is to “split the difference.”

For “Fall Back,” my recommendation to all parents is just to leave the clocks alone so it’s not a psychologically upsetting event to see your little one up an hour earlier. Just get up at your usual time and start the day. After your cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast, then you can go around changing the clocks. It will feel much better this way, trust me!

If, for example, your little one usually takes a morning nap around 9:30 a.m., you will adjust this to 9:00 a.m. for the three days after the time change. It will be a bit of a push for your child, but not so much that it will cause much damage to her schedule. Do the same for the afternoon nap.

Let’s say your child usually goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. I recommend putting that child to bed at 6:30 p.m. for the first three days following the time change. (This will FEEL like 7:30 p.m. to your child.) And it will take about a week for your child’s body to get used to this. It takes everybody’s body roughly one week to adjust any kind of change in sleeping habits.

If you have children over the age of two, you can put a digital clock in the room and put a piece of tape over the minutes, so that they can see if it is 6 o’clock or 7 o’clock, but they cannot see the minutes, which often confuses toddlers. Also, set the clock forward half an hour so that at 6:30 a.m. it says 7:00 a.m. and let them get up a little earlier than normal, knowing that, by the end of the week, they will be back on track and sleep until their normal wake-up time.

If you are dealing with a baby, you cannot do that. Do not rush in as soon as you hear your baby waking up, because you do not want to send a message that getting up at 6:00 a.m. is okay now. So if she normally wakes at 7:00 a.m., but is now up at 6:00 a.m., you will wait till ten after the first day, and then twenty after the next, then 6:30 a.m. the next day and, by the end of the week, your baby’s schedule should be adjusted to the new time and waking up at their usual hour.

On the fourth night, just get in line with the new time so your baby is back to going to bed when the clock says 7:00 p.m. Adjust naps to the correct time on day four as well.

Remember, it takes time for all of us to adjust to the new time. Following these strategies will make sure that your little one does it smoothly and without trouble! 

However, if your little one isn’t sleeping at night or napping well during day and you’re thinking it’s time to do something about, schedule a free 15-minute call with me! I would love to chat and learn more about sleep for your little one and your family.

Sleep well,

Diane

 

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It’s Time To Spring Ahead!

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Diane Dauphinais
Wednesday, 08 March 2017 / Published in Daylight Savings

Already? It always feels like we just changed the clocks. This is not such a big deal prior to having children, but it certainly becomes stressful when parents have to adjust their little ones to a “new time”. This is especially true if they have just gotten on track with sleep.

Losing one hour means an increase in sleep debt for both adults and children. Personally, I feel that Daylight Savings no longer serves a purpose, and statistically speaking, studies have shown that there is an increase of up to 20 % in traffic accidents every year on the Monday after Daylight Savings Time begins.

Nonetheless, it is time to move your clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 12, so here are my best strategies to help your child adjust to the new time within a week!

Split the difference.

For the first three days of Daylight Savings you will adjust your child’s schedule ahead by 30 minutes rather than the full hour. He may hang out, babble or take slightly longer to fall asleep. This is okay. He will fall asleep eventually and this will begin the process of resetting his internal clock.

You can begin with bedtime on Saturday night if you that works for you, but feel confident to wait until Sunday. Some people panic and begin adjusting their child a week before Daylight Savings comes into effect, which is unnecessary. If your little one naps, then you will begin with his first nap on Sunday when the time changes. For example, if your child normally naps at 9:30 a.m. you will move his first nap to 10:00 a.m. or if bedtime is normally at 7:00 p.m. you will move it to 7:30 p.m. for the first three days.

On day four, your child will be ready to move to the new time. He will now be back on track with his proper times for both naps and bedtimes.

Darkness.

Darkness increases melatonin production (sleepy hormone). This is a huge advantage in helping reset your child’s internal clock, as well as your own! An hour before bedtime, keep things low key and quiet, dim the lights and eliminate screens. This means no television, iPad’s, etc. that emit blue light and interfere with sleep. If you do not have black-out blinds in your child’s bedroom, now is the time to invest in some to keep it nice and dark to help your little one sleep past the early morning sunrise!

The power of routines.

A child’s mind and body are strongly cued by his routines. By following his usual routines on the first day of time change, he will be able to predict and have a sense of what comes next. For example, if your child naps after lunch, then make sure he has had lunch before his nap on Sunday, and his internal clock will naturally feel prepared for nap time. This is the same for the rest of the daily schedule; awake time activities, supper time and the bedtime routine should all be shifted at the same pace as sleep times.

Follow these strategies, and by the end of the week, your child will be back on track with his normal schedule again!

Sleep well,

Diane

Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant

If you are looking for more sleep solutions to get your child sleeping well and through the night, you can set up a free 15-minute consultation here or check out information for my next More Sleep For Baby online workshop!

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Ottawa Sleep Consulting

Sound Of Sleep is Ottawa's leading baby sleep consultant and adult sleep specialist focused on help you and your family get the restful sleep they need and deserve. 

Our sleep consulting is built on the values of compassion, professionalism and support. Since every child and adult is unique Diane, Sleep Consultant at Sound Of Sleep, focuses her efforts on creating a perfectly customized plan for you and your family.

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