Clock Changing? We Actually Gain Only 33 Minutes of Sleep!

I always thought turning the clocks back was a pretty good deal.

An extra hour of sleep? I'll take it!

Every November, we're told that wonderful news. We get to turn our clocks back, enjoy an extra hour in bed, and supposedly wake up feeling more refreshed.

Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?

Except our bodies don't necessarily see it that way.

This year, the clocks change on Sunday, November 1, and I came across some fascinating research that made me look at this whole clock-changing business a little differently.

One study in particular really surprised me.

The Depression Study That Really Caught My Attention

Researchers in Denmark examined 185,419 hospital contacts for depression over a period of 17 years.

They found that following the autumn clock change, there was an 11% increase in the rate of hospital contacts for depressive episodes compared with what researchers would have expected.

Eleven percent!

But here's the part that really caught my attention.

That increase gradually disappeared over approximately 10 weeks.

Ten weeks!

We change our clocks in a second, yet the effects associated with that change appeared to linger for weeks.

Researchers suggested that the sudden loss of evening daylight, and the awareness that we're heading into a long stretch of shorter days, might help explain the findings.

Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone becomes depressed when the clocks change, or that the clock change itself was proven to cause depression. The researchers found an association, not proof of cause and effect.

Still, I find it remarkable.

We often think of sleep as something that happens only at night. But our sleep, mood, energy, and emotional well-being are connected to what happens throughout the entire day.

And daylight plays a much bigger role than many people realize.

Your Circadian Rhythm Doesn't Own a Watch

We all have an internal biological clock called our circadian rhythm. It's approximately a 24-hour cycle that helps regulate when we feel sleepy, when we feel alert, our body temperature, hormones, digestion, and even our mood.

Think of it as your body's built-in scheduling system.

Throughout the day, your brain receives signals, especially from light, that help it figure out what time it is.

Morning light tells your brain that it's daytime. As evening approaches and light decreases, your body begins preparing for sleep. Melatonin, one of the hormones involved in regulating our sleep-wake cycle, generally starts rising in the evening.

Cortisol also follows a daily rhythm, typically increasing around the time we wake up to help us become alert and ready for the day.

It's quite an impressive system when you think about it.

And then, twice a year, we decide to interfere with it.

We change every clock in the house, adjust our schedules, and expect our bodies to cooperate immediately.

Good luck with that!

What Actually Happens When We Turn the Clocks Back?

When daylight saving time ends, we move our clocks back one hour.

So if you normally wake up at 7 a.m., your internal clock may still be ready to wake you when the new clock says 6 a.m. and suddenly, you're lying there wondering why you're wide awake when you supposedly have another hour to sleep.

Nothing has gone wrong. Your body is simply following the rhythm it was accustomed to.

There's another important change happening, too.

Sunrise and sunset now occur approximately an hour earlier according to the clock. That means more light in the morning, but darkness arrives earlier in the evening, and that change in light exposure can influence our energy, mood, and sleep.

Speaking of daylight, I've written before about how something as simple as getting outside can affect our sleep, focus, and how we feel throughout the day. You can read more in my blog, Why Fresh Air Helps You Sleep Better, Focus, and Feel More Grounded.

Interestingly, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine actually supports staying on standard time year-round because it generally aligns better with our natural circadian rhythms.

So turning the clocks back isn't necessarily the problem. It's the sudden change, combined with the shift in when we experience daylight, that can temporarily throw some people off.

And About That Extra Hour of Sleep...

Before you get too excited about the wonderful extra hour we're supposedly getting, I have one more piece of research to share.

A study involving 11,780 adults looked at how much people actually slept when the clocks changed.

And guess what?

Despite having an extra 60 minutes available, participants slept an average of just 33 minutes longer on the day of the autumn clock change compared with the previous Sunday.

Thirty-three minutes!

Apparently, having an extra hour available doesn't automatically mean our bodies are going to use it.

Which brings me back to something I tell my clients all the time.

Sleep isn't something we can force, demand, or schedule down to the minute. We can create the right conditions, but ultimately, our bodies have their own rhythms.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is simply allow them to do their job.

If sleep has become a struggle and you're tired of trying to figure it out on your own, I'd love to help you understand what's actually keeping you awake.

Book a complimentary clarity call with me here.

Now, I'd really love to know where those other 27 minutes went.

Any theories?