Time change: ten tips to combat fatigue

Resentment against the time change is growing. The subsequent complaints are particularly annoying for many people because their biorhythms become seriously out of balance.

The time change causes symptoms similar to mini-jet lag in some people. Until the internal clock and daily routine have adjusted again, sleep disturbances, fatigue or concentration problems may occur. It can take up to four weeks for the body to adjust to the time change.

According to Prof. Till Roenneberg, head of human chronobiology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, the problem is that you can easily change the clocks, but not the body’s internal clock.

Human ‘internal time’, as Roenneberg calls it, is based on the Earth’s day-night rhythm. Ideally, this should be performed every 24 hours. “Our internal clocks are – compared to our ancestors – very late,” the chronobiologist explains. This is mainly because people do not get enough daylight.

An example: if you have to get up at 6 a.m., your internal clock has only reached 5 a.m. in the summer – and therefore has to wake up too early. On the other hand, if you have to go to bed at 11 p.m. to get at least seven hours of sleep, you’re often not tired enough — because your internal clock doesn’t show until 10 p.m.

These tricks will help you avoid sleep problems and concentration problems:

To get used to summer time more easily, it is best to take a walk to combat afternoon fatigue. The fresh air and daylight ensure a higher release of serotonin and the resulting melatonin. Melatonin regulates the sleep and wake rhythm. This means you stay awake longer during the day and become tired as dusk approaches.

But why do some people handle the time change so poorly? This may be because the internal clock does not match the external clock.

“People invented the clock to structure their activities,” says sleep doctor Kneginja Richter, head physician at the Curamed day clinic in Nuremberg and professor at the Technical University of Nuremberg. But: if we were to follow our sleep-wake cycle – completely independent of the time of day – it would be longer or shorter than 24 hours for many people.

“As time transitions to daylight saving time, the people who will suffer the most are those who have a longer sleep-wake cycle than the 24-hour cycle,” says the sleep doctor. If your internal clock already assumes a 25-hour day, missing another hour will be even more significant.

But even those who tend to sleep poorly may find it harder to cope with the time change. Age can also play a role. “From the age of 55, less melatonin, the sleep hormone, is released by the pineal gland in the brain,” says Richter. This can be a risk factor for sleep disorders – making you more sensitive to the time change.

Our expectations can also influence how well we handle the start of daylight saving time. Because the time change does not come out of nowhere, but enters our consciousness days in advance.