Picture by Manhattanhenge2 at Wikimedia Commons

By Eboni Walker

Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 2am starts 2017 daylight savings time. As it regards daylight savings time, remember the slogan, “Spring forward”. You’ll lose one hour of sleep this weekend. But, you’ll gain an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day.

Daylight savings time symptoms

Even with the extra hour of sunlight, it can be tough to adjust to the time change. Struggle to adjust to 2017 daylight savings time and you could display symptoms. Among daylight savings time adjustment symptoms are:

• Prolonged fatigue – You might feel sleepy or tired early Monday even if you get seven or more hours of sleep Saturday and Sunday night.
• Irritability – Fatigue could translate into irritability, especially if you are pressured with tight deadlines at work and a hectic schedule at home.
• Lack of alertness – Dullness in your thoughts could find you moving slower.
• Accidents – Blend fatigue, irritability and lack of alertness and your reflexes could be slower than normal. If it’s darker early in the morning where you live and you don’t allow yourself time to adjust to the light changes, you might expect your vision to adjust to the light changes faster than they actually do. This could lead to mishaps.

Make the most of daylight savings time is this weekend

Although you might not be able to avoid all symptoms related to 2017 daylight savings time, there are steps that you could take to alleviate the symptoms. Early steps start with preparing for the change. Preparation and other adjustment steps include:

• Write a note, reminding yourself to set your clocks forward an hour
• Head for bed 30 to 60 minutes earlier on Saturday, Sunday and maybe even Monday night, giving yourself more time to adjust to 2017 daylight savings time
• Exercise in the morning to avoid feeling fatigued in the evening and slowly eliminating exercise from your daily routine or reducing the amount of time that you spend exercising each day and week
• Eat a healthy diet to fuel your body for the day
• Tell your children and everyone living in your house when 2017 daylight savings time is to ensure that everyone is prepared to make the adjustment
• Ask your children to finish their homework on Saturday night, so they have all of Sunday to relax
• Complete one to two morning chores at night
• Host a 2017 daylight savings time get together to celebrate the change, encouraging yourself to see the daylight change in a positive light

Give yourself time to adjust to 2017 daylight savings time

Avoid oversleeping on Sunday. Before you go to bed on Saturday night, set your clocks forward one hour. Your computers should reset to the new time automatically. Give them a quick spot check when you wake to make sure that they are posting the correct time.


Do the same with your cell phone and fitness watches that are designed with a built in clock. And be patient with yourself. It could take you one to three or more days to fully adjust to 2017 daylight savings time.