As every year since 1975, the last Sunday of October we switch to winter time. But does this change have an impact on your child’s sleep?
The transition to winter time and the transition to summer time can disrupt our daily lives and our nights of sleep. Since 1975, on the last Sunday in March we sleep an hour less but the sun stays longer in our days. And on the last Sunday of October we sleep an hour longer but our days are getting shorter and the night comes earlier. Morale takes a hit despite the arrival of the end of year celebrations. If the transition to winter time can more or less disturb adults, what about your children?
On the night of Saturday October 29 to Sunday October 30, at 3 am it will actually be 2 am. And if your children are already struggling to sleep through the night, you are afraid that this time change will completely disrupt them and that they will wake you up much too early for a Sunday…
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Time change: what impact on my child?
Babies, up to 5-6 monthsare not sensitive to the time change since their sleep rhythm is not set according to the solar rhythm. For infants, no problem: the time change should not disturb them. So you don’t need to change anything at his routine to adapt to winter time, he won’t even realize it.
Beyond 6 months and up to 3 or 4 years, children may be disturbed by the time change. In reality it is especially when we pass to summer time that they are disordered: losing an hour of sleep and seeing the days become longer can disrupt their routine. This will manifest itself in a decreased appetite, mood swings or unusual fussiness in your child. For winter time, the transition will be smoother, children will surely be more sleepy with the cold, night and winter fatigue.
The time change can therefore disturb your child but very often he readjusts quickly and resumes his habits. A child takes less time to adapt than an adult, so don’t panic!