Living in the northeast, the spring daylight savings can be a welcome respite from a long winter. That extra hour of sunlight in the afternoon allows for many of us to return home after a long day, while the sun is still out. Looking to add an after work walk into your daily practice? Now’s the time. Temps are warming and the sun is shining. But how does this change affect our diet? Simply put, for the time surrounding daylight savings, our sleep cycle gets disrupted. When our sleep cycle gets disrupted, our hunger hormones may be thrown off. Ghrelin, which makes us hungry, increases and leptin, which signals fullness, decreases, all when we are sleep deprived. Knowing this, what steps can we do to make the transition easier?

The days leading up to the time change, plan to go to bed 20 minutes earlier each day.
Make sure your sleep environment is conducive to pleasant sleep. Use the time change as a reminder to clean all your bedding, vacuum the mattress and even vacuum under the bed. Open a window while you’re doing this to let fresh air flow in.
Go grocery shopping and stock up on healthy items before the time change. If your sleep is disrupted and cravings do kick in, make sure to have good food on hand.
Exposure to sunlight in the AM helps with circadian rhythm and is a natural way to “wake up”. Limit the caffeine intake after 2pm as to not throw off the body’s natural ability to become sleepy.
Use the extra hour to do something that brings you joy! Not spring cleaning per se, but maybe an extra hour of reading or go enjoy time outside.