SALT LAKE CITY — Daylight Saving Time comes to an end this weekend meaning many Utahns will adjust their sleep schedules.
On Sunday, November 6 at 2 a.m. clocks will move back one hour.
Moving back to standard time means earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets.
“Take advantage of that bonus hour of sleep,” said Dr. Kevin Walker, the director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Sleep Disorder Center. “As adults, a lot of us are sleep deprived, we don't get the amount of sleep we should.”
Dr. Walker provided FOX13 News with a list of things people can do to minimize disruptions to their sleep schedules.
First, people are advised to listen to their body cues and resist the urge to force themselves into a new schedule.
When it is bedtime, turn off all lights and screens that can emit light as those lights can disrupt a person’s sleep-wake cycle.
Those who wake up an hour earlier are advised to get out of bed and do something active like working out to energize themselves for the rest of the day.
Resisting the urge to hit snooze, turning on lights once awake and having a healthy breakfast will also help dealing with time change impacts.
“Your body is good at letting you know when you need sleep and when it's time to get up,” Dr. Walker said. “Generally, that circadian clock lets us know when we are ready to sleep.”
A poll conducted by Monmouth University found 61 percent of Americans would like to end the practice of changing clocks two times per year. 35 percent responded that they want to see the current system stay in place.
Recently, the United States Senate voted unanimously to implement year-round Daylight-Saving Time.
However, the legislation has stalled in the House of Representatives, and it is unlikely to make any progress this year.
An Arizona based non-profit, Save Standard Time, would like to see the end of the current system of changing clocks two times per year.
“You can’t legislate more sunlight,” said Jay Pea, the director of Save Standard Time. “Daylight time is legislating people to get up earlier which I don't think most people would opt to do.”
The group argues that moving the clock creates unnatural times for sunrises and sunsets. In some areas, the sun would rise around 9 a.m. in the winter if year-round Daylight-Saving Time is enacted.
They believe later sunrises create safety issues for drivers and pedestrians and cost consumers more to heat their homes due to the delay of natural light.
“The full time through Daylight Saving Time when our bodies are miss aligned, it's doing more harm to the body,” Said Dr. Karin Johnson, a member of the board of directors of Save Standard Time.
To help children adjust to the time change, doctors advise parents to allow their children to stay up a few minutes later in the days leading up to the move back to standard time.
According to doctors, "falling back" in the November is easier to adjust to compared to "springing forward" in March.
