A Stolen Hour of Sleep...

Don't forget to put your clocks forward this Saturday night. Not just your watch and alarm clock, but the oven, the DVD player, the one in the car etc etc to avoid confusion come Sunday morning. The exact time the clocks spring forward is 2am on Sunday morning.

One area of confusion can be our mobile phones (which serve as many people's alarm clocks these days) - does yours automatically update or do you have to do it yourself? Here is our indispensible guide to those which update themselves - have a look for your phone here...

• Apple iPhone
• Most BlackBerry devices
• All HTC models running Android & WIN 7
• Most LG devices
• Most MOTOROLA devices
• Most Nokia models, including series 40 and 60 phones.
• Most SAMSUNG devices
• Most Sony Ericsson models

I was reading a recent Innocent (the smoothie people) newsletter and I thought they phrased the phenomenon of daylight savings perfectly: "Come Saturday night the workers from the Department of Time will be out in their masses, creeping through the darkness and wrestling exactly 60 minutes from our sleepy grip. They've assured us that the lost hours, which amount to over 62 million, will be stored securely in their vaults ready for redistribution come October, and that nobody should feel a thing when they carry out their work."

So faced with the fact that we will lose an hour's sleep, what can we do to make the most of Saturday night's slumber?

1. As above, put ALL your clocks forward before bed.
2. Start preparing your body clock by going to sleep and waking up 30 minutes earlier and taking a nap on Sunday. Once you wake up over the weekend, try to get some sunlight as soon as possible for extra energy. This should help with the early-morning jolt come Monday morning.
3. Mornings will be darker initially so use a natural sunrise alarm clock to alleviate the 'waking up in the dark' discomfort.
4. Improve your sleep hygiene, which is a term used to describe the actions we take to create sleep-friendly environments and enhance your chances of falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping soundly. Basics include reducing caffeine and alcohol, exercising several hours before bedtime, relaxing before getting into bed and investing in good, breathable and comfortable bedding.
5. Though there is no evidence that certain diets will actually influence your circadian rhythm, carbohydrates tend to make it easier to fall sleep.

Sleep tight x