Spring Forward Health

Daylight Saving Biohacks for Easier Transition

Written by Nina Çapar | Springtime

There's something deeply ironic about the fact that we "spring forward" right when spring is supposed to be about renewal, awakening, and fresh starts. Instead, we're walking around like zombies for a week, missing that precious hour of sleep, feeling like we've been hit by a truck made of grogginess and confusion.

And yet, here we are. Every year. Losing an hour. Gaining daylight. Questioning why we still do this to ourselves.

But if you're anything like me—someone who sees magic in sunlight hitting your face, who notices the subtle shifts in how the light changes throughout the seasons, who feels the world waking up in spring like it's a personal invitation to also wake up—then you know that this time change is more than just an inconvenience. It's a disruption to something primal. Something that runs deeper than just feeling tired on Monday morning.

It messes with our circadian rhythm, that ancient internal clock that's been ticking away inside us since before we even had clocks to tell us what time it was. And when you mess with that? Everything feels off. Your sleep, your mood, your energy, your focus—all of it just slightly out of tune, like an instrument that needs adjusting.

So let's talk about how to actually make this transition easier. Not with vague advice like "just go to bed earlier" (thanks, I'll get right on that), but with actual, tangible biohacks that work with your body instead of against it.

Why This Hits Different Than You Think

First, let's be brutally honest about what's actually happening here.

When we spring forward, we're not just losing an hour of sleep one night. We're asking our bodies to suddenly shift their entire rhythm—the rhythm that governs when we feel alert, when we feel hungry, when we feel tired, when our body temperature rises and falls, when our hormones are released. All of it. All at once.

Your body doesn't care that the government decided to change the clocks. Your body is still operating on sun time, on natural light-dark cycles that have governed life on this planet for millions of years. And suddenly you're asking it to pretend that 7 AM is actually 6 AM, that bedtime is an hour earlier than it feels, that morning comes before your body is ready for it.

For most people, it takes about a week to fully adjust. But here's what they don't tell you: some people never fully adjust. Their bodies keep fighting it, keep trying to return to the natural rhythm they had before. And if you're someone who already struggles with sleep, who's sensitive to light and dark, who feels the changing seasons in your bones—this hits you harder than most.

I notice it immediately. That first Monday after we spring forward? I can feel it in my body. The grogginess isn't just tiredness—it's disorientation. My body is confused, asking why the sun is in the wrong place, why breakfast is happening at the wrong time, why everything feels slightly off-kilter.

But I also notice something else: how beautiful that extra evening light is. How magical it feels to walk outside after dinner and still see the sun. How the world suddenly has more space in it, more possibility, more time to exist in daylight.

So we're caught in this tension: the transition is brutal, but the destination is worth it.

The Biohacks (That Actually Work)

Let me be clear: I'm not a doctor, I'm not a sleep scientist, I'm just someone who's obsessed with understanding how my body works and has spent way too much time researching this because I refuse to suffer unnecessarily. So take this for what it is—things that have worked for me and are backed by actual science, not wellness industry nonsense.

1. Start Adjusting Before the Change (The "Why Didn't I Think of That" Approach)

Here's the thing no one wants to hear: the best time to prepare for springing forward was three days ago.

But if you're reading this before the change happens, you still have time. Start shifting your schedule in 15-20 minute increments in the days leading up. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier. Wake up 15 minutes earlier. Eat meals 15 minutes earlier. Do this for three days before the change, and by the time Sunday hits, your body has already done most of the adjusting.

I know. I know. It requires planning and discipline and actually thinking ahead. But you know what else requires planning and discipline? Dragging yourself through an entire week feeling like death because you didn't want to go to bed 15 minutes earlier for three days.

Choose your hard.

2. Light Is Your New Best Friend (Or Enemy, Depending on Timing)

Your circadian rhythm is controlled by light. Specifically, by special cells in your eyes that detect light and send signals to your brain about what time it is. This is not metaphorical—this is literal biology.

So here's what you do:

In the morning (the new, earlier morning that feels like the middle of the night): Get outside. Immediately. Or at least as soon as you can. Get bright light—ideally sunlight—into your eyes. No sunglasses. Just you and the sun, having a conversation about what time it is. This tells your brain: "It's morning now. Time to be awake. Time to start the day."

Even 10-15 minutes makes a difference. Stand outside with your coffee. Take a walk. Sit by a window. Just get that light.

In the evening (the new, later evening that still feels like afternoon): Start dimming things down earlier than feels natural. Your body is still operating on old time, so it's not going to naturally feel tired when it should. You need to help it along.

Dim the lights in your house. Use warm-toned lights instead of bright white lights. If you're on your phone or computer (because let's be realistic, you are), use blue light filters or wear blue light blocking glasses. Create an environment that whispers "it's getting close to bedtime" even if your body is screaming "but I'm not tired yet!"

3. The Temperature Trick (That Feels Counterintuitive but Works)

Your body temperature naturally drops when it's time to sleep. It's part of how your circadian rhythm works—temperature and sleep are deeply connected.

So here's the hack: help your body temperature drop.

Take a warm shower or bath about 90 minutes before bed. I know that sounds backwards—wouldn't that warm you up? But here's what actually happens: when you get out of the warm water, your body rapidly cools down. Your blood vessels dilate, heat escapes from your extremities, and your core temperature drops. And that drop? That's a signal to your body that it's time to sleep.

Also, keep your bedroom cool. Like, cooler than you think. Somewhere between 60-67°F (15-19°C) is optimal for most people. I know it feels luxurious to sleep in a warm room, but your body literally sleeps better when it's cooler.

And here's a weird one that actually works: wear socks to bed. Your hands and feet are where your body releases the most heat, so keeping them warm helps with heat distribution and can actually help you fall asleep faster. I was skeptical too. But it works.

4. Caffeine Curfew (The Thing You Don't Want to Hear)

I know. I know. You need your afternoon coffee because you're tired because of the time change. I get it. I'm right there with you, holding my third cup of coffee at 3 PM and wondering why I'm still exhausted.

But here's the brutal truth: caffeine has a half-life of about 5-6 hours (and can even be way more if you are on birth control). That means if you have coffee at 3 PM, half of that caffeine is still in your system at 9 PM. And a quarter of it is still there at midnight when you're lying in bed wondering why you can't fall asleep.

During the transition week (or honestly, always, but especially during the transition week), try to cut yourself off from caffeine by early afternoon. 1 PM is ideal. 2 PM is acceptable. 3 PM is pushing it.

And if you absolutely need something in the afternoon, try tea with lower caffeine content, or better yet, go outside and get some sunlight. Sometimes what we interpret as "I need caffeine" is actually "my circadian rhythm is confused and needs a light reset."

5. Move Your Body (But Not Too Late)

Exercise is amazing for sleep. It helps regulate your circadian rhythm, reduces stress, tires you out in a good way. But timing matters.

Morning or early afternoon exercise? Perfect. It helps set your circadian rhythm, gives you energy for the day, and doesn't interfere with sleep.

Evening exercise? Tricky. For some people, it's fine. For others (raises hand), it's like drinking an espresso at 8 PM. You're all wound up, your body temperature is elevated, your heart rate is up, and your body is absolutely not in the mood for sleep.

During the spring forward transition, try to move your workouts earlier if you can. Get outside for a morning walk or run—bonus points because you're also getting that bright morning light. Do your yoga. Hit the gym. Whatever moves your body, just try to do it before late afternoon.

6. The Meal Timing Thing (That Actually Matters More Than You'd Think)

Your circadian rhythm isn't just about sleep and light—it also governs when your body expects food. And food is a powerful time cue for your body.

So during the transition, try to eat your meals at the new time, even if you're not hungry yet. Your body will catch up, and this actually helps reset your internal clock faster.

Breakfast especially matters. Eating breakfast at the new time (even if it's just something small) tells your body: "This is morning now. This is when we eat breakfast. Adjust accordingly."

And try to avoid eating too close to bedtime. When you eat, your body temperature rises, your digestion kicks in, and your body is in "processing mode" rather than "sleeping mode." Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before bed if you can.

7. Naps: The Double-Edged Sword

You're going to be tired that first week. Maybe really tired. And the temptation to take a long nap will be strong.

Resist.

Or at least, resist the long nap. A 20-30 minute power nap in the early afternoon? Fine. Helpful, even. It can help you get through the day without completely derailing your ability to sleep at night.

But a 2-hour nap at 4 PM? That's sabotage. You'll feel great when you wake up and then wonder why you're wide awake at midnight. You're essentially creating jet lag within your own timezone.

If you absolutely must nap, keep it short and keep it early.

8. Create a Sleep Sanctuary (Not Just a Bedroom)

This is about more than just the transition—this is about sleep in general. But it becomes especially important when your body is already struggling.

Your bedroom should be:

• Dark. Like, really dark. Blackout curtains dark. No light from electronic devices dark. Your body produces melatonin (the sleep hormone) in response to darkness, and even small amounts of light can suppress it.

• Quiet. Use earplugs if you need to, or white noise to mask other sounds.

• Cool. We covered this, but it's worth repeating.

• Comfortable. Obvious, but your mattress, pillows, and bedding matter.

But also, and this is the part people don't want to hear: your bedroom should be for sleep (and intimacy) only. Not for scrolling on your phone. Not for watching TV. Not for working. Not for stressing about tomorrow.

Your brain needs to associate your bedroom with sleep. When you do everything in your bedroom, your brain gets confused about what's supposed to happen there.

I know this is hard. I know your bedroom might be the only private space you have. But even small changes—like not bringing your phone into bed, like keeping your laptop out of the bedroom—can make a difference.

The Mindset Shift (That Might Matter Most)

Here's where I'm going to get a little philosophical on you.

We talk about the spring forward transition like it's this thing that happens to us. Like we're victims of some arbitrary time change that we have no control over. And in a way, that's true—we didn't choose this, we can't opt out, it's happening whether we like it or not.

But we do have control over how we respond to it.

You can spend the week fighting it, resenting it, complaining about how tired you are and how unfair it is. Or you can work with your body, implement these biohacks, and make the transition as smooth as possible.

And yes, you'll still be tired. Yes, it will still be an adjustment. But there's a difference between suffering through something and moving through it with intention and awareness.

I think about that flower pushing through concrete again. It doesn't sit there complaining about how hard the concrete is. It doesn't waste energy resenting the fact that there's concrete in its way. It just does what it needs to do to grow anyway. It adjusts. It finds the path. It perseveres.

And that extra hour of evening sunlight? That gift of more daylight, more time to exist in the light, more space to live? That's worth the adjustment.

Because here's what I've learned about transitions: they're hard, but they're also opportunities. Opportunities to pay attention to your body, to learn what works for you, to practice taking care of yourself, to build resilience.

Every transition—whether it's a time change or a life change—asks you to adapt. To be flexible. To find new rhythms. And the better you get at navigating small transitions, the better you get at navigating the big ones.

The Magic in the Extra Light

The first evening after we spring forward, when I step outside after dinner and the sun is still up, still casting that golden light across everything—it feels like magic.

Not the same magic as finding beauty in a tiny winter garden. This is a different kind of magic. This is possibility magic. This is "the day isn't over yet" magic. This is "there's still time to do something, to go somewhere, to be outside, to live" magic.

And I realize that the tiredness, the adjustment, the grogginess—it's temporary. But that feeling of walking outside at 7 PM and still seeing daylight? That stays. That lasts. That's what we get in exchange for one hard week.

So yes, spring forward is brutal. Yes, losing an hour feels like theft. Yes, your body will protest and you'll drag yourself through a few days feeling off.

But you'll adjust. You always do.

And when you do, when your body finally syncs up with the new time, when you're walking outside in the evening and feeling the sun on your face, when you're watching the world stay light just a little bit longer—you'll remember why we do this.

Not because it's easy, but because what's on the other side is worth it.

Practical Summary (Because You're Tired and Need a List)

Okay, I know I said I don't like over-formatting with lists, but you're probably exhausted and need something you can actually remember, so here's the quick version:

Start adjusting three days early if you can, shifting your schedule by 15-20 minutes each day. Get bright light (preferably sunlight) in the morning, immediately upon waking. Dim your lights in the evening and limit blue light exposure. Take a warm shower about 90 minutes before bed. Keep your bedroom cool (60-67°F). Cut off caffeine by early afternoon. Exercise earlier in the day. Eat meals at the new time to help reset your internal clock. Keep naps short and early. Make your bedroom actually conducive to sleep.

And be patient with yourself. Give yourself permission to feel tired for a few days. Your body is doing something remarkable—adjusting to an entirely new schedule while continuing to keep you alive and functioning. That deserves some grace.

Before We Spring Forward

Time keeps moving. Whether we adjust the clocks or not, whether we're ready or not, whether we've slept enough or not.

But unlike death, unlike those bigger, scarier transitions that we can't control, this one? This one we can prepare for. This one we can make easier. This one we can move through with intention instead of just suffering through.

And maybe that's practice. Practice for the bigger transitions, the harder adjustments, the moments when life springs forward without asking permission and we have to figure out how to keep up.

So let's spring forward. Let's adjust. Let's use these biohacks to make it easier.

And then let's step outside in the evening, feel that sunlight that shouldn't be there yet but is, and remember that sometimes losing something (even just an hour) means gaining something else.

Something like magic. Something like possibility. Something like more time in the light.

And isn't that what we're all looking for anyway?

With love and extra coffee,
Someone who will definitely still be tired on Monday but is trying anyway