5 tips for making the "spring forward" easier on you.

We all look forward to Daylight Savings, with its promise of long summer evenings basking in the sun. But does the “spring forward” leave you feeling tired, groggy, and out of sorts? While a one hour shift might seem benign, it actually has quite an impact on the human system.

Āyurveda is a circadian medicine, meaning it views daily routines (dinacharya) and seasonal rhythms (rtucharya) as one of the primary drivers of health and wellbeing. And western medicine agrees, these natural rhythms have a profound impact on a person’s physiology and cellular function. Circadian rhythm even impacts the gut microbiome and can play a role in the development of metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory disorders, and even development of cancer. Ayurveda has been stressing a rhythmic lifestyle for centuries, and modern science agrees.

So, what does the one hour shift to Daylight Savings time mean for our bodies? In one word, STRESS. Studies have found that there are many risks associated with the switch to DST, including an increase in motor vehicle accidents, work related injuries, and even increased rates of suicide. Many of these risks can be traced back to the disruption of the circadian cycle.

Āyurveda emphasizes waking and sleeping with the rising and setting of the sun. That can be difficult when the time changes. You might be tempted to sleep an hour later on Sunday (because your normal time feels like an hour earlier), and with the longer daylight hours you’ll want to stay up later (again, because your normal bedtime feels like an hour earlier).

You can start adjusting now to make the transition easier. Āyurveda recommends rising by 6am (you can push it until about 7am during the winter months, but at this time of year you want to be rising closer to 6am), and going to bed by 10pm. To adjust to Daylight Savings Time begin rising and going to bed 30 minutes earlier starting on Friday night. Note that it will still take about a week or so for your body to completely adjust, but if you start early it won’t be such a shock to your system.

The circadian rhythm and the rhythms of nature are governed by the sun. To help combat some of the effects of shifting the clock forward one hour, make it a point to get outside as close to sunrise as possible and take a walk. The sunlight will help reset your internal clock, and the movement will pacify the heavy qualities of kapha (it is kapha season afterall, which can compound the sleepiness you might feel from the lost hour).

Although it’s kapha season, time changes (spring and fall) are vata provoking events. Any sudden, quick changes that are disruptive increase vata, and vata often needs nourishment. Nourish yourself on Sunday morning with abhyanga (āyurvedic self massage), followed by a long, warm bath or shower.

Because what we eat plays such an important role in our overall health, for the few days surrounding the time change it’s especially important to eat a kapha pacifying diet of fresh, light foods like lightly steamed vegetables, cooked beans, and light, brothy soups. Heavy, kapha provoking foods like pastas, breads, pastries and sweets can increase the heavy and lethargic feeling the time change induces. So, keep it light.

An āyurvedic yoga practice and prānāyāma can help decrease kapha as well as calm and ground vata. Since yoga āsana that pacify kapha tend to aggravate vata, and vice versa, a carefully planned practice that can pacify both doshas will be best for feeling balanced and refreshed in the days following the time change. Try out the short video below for a quick Āyurvedic Yoga Routine to balance your energy after the time change.

I hope these simple suggestions help reduce the impact of the time change, and keep you feeling your best as we head into those longer, warmer evenings ahead. If you want to learn more about incorporating yoga and āyurveda into your life please reach out!