Birmingham, here’s how to survive the daylight savings time change happening Sunday, March 11

Daylight savings time happens this weekend. Are you ready?

Spring is here! Well, it would be if it weren’t for the cold snap that hit this week. But, despite the cold that is making us bundle up, the sun is brilliantly shining and flowers are blooming al around. While everyone is getting excited about the days becoming longer and the weather being gorgeous, it can often be a hard transition when daylight savings time actually happens.

This year, daylight savings time falls on March 11 at 2a.m. This 60 minutes when time springs forward means the sun will rise and set later and an entire hour of sleep will simply vanish. So what do you do about it?

Check out this guide to surviving daylight savings time springing forward, of course!

Know when the bars close

Birmingham has some pretty great bars, but if you plan on spending a late night out this weekend, be sure to keep the time change somewhere in that noggin’ of yours. If you’re out Saturday night when the clock springs ahead, you could miss a solid hour of drinks and fun. So if you head for the bar during the first wee hours of the morning, you’ll definitely want to ensure the place you’re headed will still be open when you arrive.

Two bars where you may find yourself during those early morning hours is The J. Clyde and Nana Funks. Just remember, since J. Clyde is open until 2am, that’s really 3a.m. during the time change. If you’re a go all night type and find yourself at Nana Funks, that 6a.m. closing time will really be 7a.m.

If you have things to do on Sunday, be careful, because this could mean you’re in for a pretty rough day.

Sleep hygiene

It seems ridiculous that a one-hour change in the time could wreak havoc on one’s sleep, but if you’re like many, it really can throw your schedule all out of whack. Who can go to sleep at night when it stays light outside so much later?

This is why it’s important to create good sleep hygiene.

What exactly is sleep hygiene?

According to WebMD – I promise this will be one time where you won’t be worried sick over their advice!– it is:

A term used to describe those actions you can take to create sleep-friendly environments and enhance your chances of falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping soundly.

Here are some things they suggest you do:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Exercise several hours before bed.
• Reduce or eliminate caffeine and alcohol several hours before bed.
• Create calming rituals before bed to gradually relax yourself (ex., take a hot bath, wear earplugs to eliminate noise, wear an eye mask to eliminate light).

Find the sun

Another good way to better adjust yourself to the time change is to get immediate sun exposure upon waking in the morning. What’s so great about sunshine? The answer – pretty much everything!

Sunshine triggers the body to stop producing melatonin – you know, the sleepy hormone that makes it hard to wake up. Getting adequate sunshine will help you feel much more awake when your body tries to get used to the new time change, and in fact, it will actually help synchronize your internal clock much faster.

Plus, the sun is the ultimate source of vitamin D, and everything needs a good dose of that to be healthy.

Change the clocks on time

While your cell phone and many other clocks will automatically adjust to the time change, your old-fashioned digital clocks won’t, so be sure to set them an hour ahead when the time comes.

Though the time change technically occurs at 2a.m. Sunday, go ahead and set any clocks that need changing before you go to bed Saturday night.

This way, when you wake up on Sunday, you won’t start your day off confused and yelling, “What time is it?!” when all of the clocks around your house read something different.

Don’t forget to set your car clock, too! Otherwise, you may have a sudden panic attack Monday morning.

One thing you won’t want to do is be late for church, especially Asbury United Methodist Church’s Easter Open House Weekend and #Eggstravaganza event happening Sunday, March 11. Learn more here.

Double check meeting times

Have a meeting Sunday or Monday? Then you may want to touch base with the person you are meeting to double check that the meeting time still works. It’s also wise to make sure the person you are meeting is aware of the time change so everyone actually shows up on schedule.

If, for some reason, you ever find yourself wondering what time it really is, check out time.gov for the most accurate time check of all.

Enjoy it

The time change may throw your mind and body for a bit of a loop, but it won’t last long. So enjoy it! Spend some time at one of Birmingham’s incredible parks, like Railroad Park or Veteran’s Park, or grab your fave drink from a local coffee shop like Revelator Coffee or Urban Standard. You may even want to swing by Books-A-Million and grab one of the latest best sellers or your favorite magazine so you can enjoy some time outside during the gorgeous spring that is sweetly wrapping itself around us.

How do you intend to survive the daylight savings time change this year? If you have any tips, let us know!