Don’t let daylight saving time mess with your sleep. Sign up for our special newsletter
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, and that means for the majority of the United States, the clocks will spring forward one hour.
Losing an hour can really mess with your sleep. It can take days for your body to adjust to darker mornings, and the shift to more light in the evening can leave your circadian rhythm out of sync, reports NPR’s Allison Aubrey.
Prepare yourself for the time change and sign up for Life Kit’s Guide to Better Sleep, a limited-run newsletter series that originally launched in June 2024. Over the course of a week, we’ll send you strategies to help you sleep better, deeper and longer so you can quickly get your sleep back on track.
How to sign up
To sign up for this one-week newsletter series, click here and enter your email address. You’ll get a welcome email from us, followed by three emails packed with science-backed tips to improve your sleep that very night.
Find out how to create a relaxing bedtime routine, manage nightly screen time and how diet and exercise affect sleep.
What our NPR readers say about this series
Since it launched last year, tens of thousands of people have subscribed to Life Kit’s Guide to Better Sleep. Here’s what some of our audience members say about the series. These responses have been edited for length and clarity.
I thought I had heard all the tips but these are great. I didn’t know that going from a warm environment to a cold one, like a cool room, can promote sleep. I’m a bath person, so it’s nice to be told I can do what I like to do! —Janie Cox
I felt validated that the habits I’ve acquired over the years are ones you also recommend. The point about not worrying about not getting enough sleep made me feel better. I’ve never been a good sleeper but being overly concerned about it certainly doesn’t help. —Jeannie Smith
I saved these newsletters for a time when I had the space to evaluate my sleep hygiene and see where I could improve. One thing I found reassuring is that no two nights of sleep look the same, and our bodies change their patterns as we age. I think I have been hoping to regain the sleep of my past when the reality is that my health has changed significantly since then. I may need to reevaluate what “a good night’s sleep” looks like for me now. —Denise Taylor Denault
After this newsletter series ends, you’ll receive weekly emails from Life Kit on lifestyle topics like health, money, relationships and more.
The digital story was edited by Clare Marie Schneider. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].
Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat
Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.
Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers
While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home?
Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.
Breaking down Alabama’s CHOOSE Act
It’s been a year since Alabama legislators passed the CHOOSE Act allowing families to apply for state funds to use towards homeschool expenses and tuition for participating private schools. The Alabama Daily News’ education reporter Trisha Powell Crain has been diving into how the funds are being used. WBHM’s Andrew Gelderman sat down with her to talk about what we’re seeing so far.
