Here's Why Daylight Savings Time Feels Even Tougher This Year

Was it just us who had a heck of a time getting out of bed the past few mornings? If daylight savings time has you yawning all day long too, there could be an easy explanation. Yes, springing ahead and losing an hour is always hard each year — but it turns out this particular year is making the adjustment even harder than usual.

If you guessed that COVID is to blame for yet another hardship, you'd be right. Because as Kristen Riley, an assistant professor and psychologist at the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology imparted to Yahoo Life, "We've already seen a huge uptick in insomnia and in problematic sleep behaviors due to the pandemic. Daylight saving time can really throw a wrench in the plan."

Indeed, the Sleep Foundation notes disrupted sleep is already the norm during the pandemic, but importantly, getting enough rest can help ward off illness. So, what to do?

Before the time change, pandemic-related insomnia — due to stress in large part — was not uncommon according to the Cleveland Clinic. And, as sleep psychologist Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM elaborated, "Being at home more can disrupt the light-based cues for wakefulness. Sunlight and light exposure help keep our circadian rhythm on schedule."

And now, daylight savings time is complicating sleep schedules even more. Consider too that the usual things one might do to help facilitate sleep aren't always possible given the pandemic, such as going outside or to the gym for exercise.

The best way to adjust, according to Dr. Sabra Abbott, a sleep medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine, is simple. She says, "You'll want to get as much light as possible in the morning. It tells your body that it's time to wake up." Attempting to cut down on stress can also help you catch some zzz's at night. The Sleep Foundation further suggests reserving your bed just for sleep — in other words, no Zoom calls under the sheets!