The Spring forward edition.

I’ve written about fall back before, and have continued using this technique for a while. This year I realized I needed a new tool to help me visualize how my energy levels will be effected by spring forward. I’m going to write it out, and share it here.

In short:

Move dinner up to one hour later.  This will reduce the impact of the change over the next few weeks.

Stay up one hour later.  This will help adjust circadian rhythm, especially this week.  In the next two weeks, I expect to gradually get tired earlier in the evening.

How I came to this conclusion:

I wrote out the times of day, and what I do at those times on a sheet of paper. The focus was on energy level. I wrote out a new version of that with the times moved to reflect spring ahead. I then compared the two, to see where my energy rhythms were going to be. From this I could tell what was going to need to be adjusted.  I did both Spring ahead, and fall back to make sure my logic was correct.

One key point worth mentioning is that I can’t control when I wake up, or fall asleep. So that’s not a part of the equation. Yes, I can set an alarm, but usually I wake up long before my alarm goes off.  I can’t control when I fall asleep, but I can control when I go to bed.  So, that’s my focus.

This whole thing is about acceptance. When we come to a better understanding of how our bodies feel, we can except the situation. We can change what we can adjust and let go of what we don’t have any affect on.