Tips To Recover From The Clocks Going Forward

How the clock changes affect your sleep, and ways to harness tech to help you recover

Do you find yourself feeling more tired once the clocks spring forward for British Summer Time? Well, you’re not alone. Although losing an hour the night of Daylight Saving Time (DST) may seem insignificant, a study of the sleep patterns of Samsung Health users^[1] across the world including 40 European countries reveals disruptions to sleep patterns can be felt weeks later, hitting younger age groups the hardest.

Clock Changes Takes a Toll on Sleep, With Younger Generations Most Disrupted

When looking into how much of an impact the clock change has on people the morning after, one thing is clear: everyone’s sleep patterns are affected. In fact, people fall asleep on average 37 minutes later than the previous night, and wake up 34 minutes earlier. While losing sleep isn’t easy at any age, those in their twenties likely felt it the most, losing half-an-hour more than everyone else thanks to an extremely late bedtime and a seeming inability to sleep in.

Sleep patterns remained inconsistent in the days following the time change as people struggled to return to their regular bedtimes and wake times, and those in their twenties again seemed to be affected the most. Unable to get their sleep patterns under control, this cohort continued to fall sleep more than 20 minutes later than normal, yet woke up only 5 minutes later – missing critical rest. By the third week, sleep patterns for all age groups were still not back to normal, with bedtimes 3 minutes later and wake up times still 14 minutes earlier than average.

Sleep Score – calculated based on an evaluation of a user’s total sleep time, time awake, sleep cycle, plus physical and mental recovery – was at the worst level for weeks after – and again, people in their twenties appeared to be most affected. When looking at the seven-day Sleep Score average, the twenties age group demonstrated the slowest score recovery rate, while older age groups adapted much quicker.

Useful Tips to Help You Recover for a Good Night’s Sleep

The time transition clearly affects the sleep patterns of all age groups long after the clocks change, but for younger generations, prioritising sleep management during this time couldn’t be more important. Sleep is essential for rest and repair of our body, as well as good physical and mental health^[2].

In recognition of the clock changes, Sleep scientist and Samsung Wellness Council member, Vanessa Hill, shares useful tips in collaboration with Samsung Health on how to harness technology to understand your sleep patterns and habits for a better night’s rest as the clocks change.

Creating an ideal sleep environment is critical to a good night’s sleep.

Later this month, a Samsung Health app update^[3] will make this possible by receiving insights into the key factors that influence sleep quality, including temperature, humidity, air quality and light intensity via a Sleep environment report^[4] – leveraging Samsung’s home-based technology and the power of its extensive device ecosystem. With a better understanding of how your environment affects sleep, you can easily optimise your room conditions for an improved night’s rest.

In addition to perfecting your sleep environment, understanding how activity levels can impact sleep quality is key.

Samsung Health updates also bring enhancements to Energy Score, which provides an indicator of how much energy users can expend throughout the day. In addition to sleep and heart rate, a new detailed factor about activity – Activity Balance – will help you understand overall conditions in greater detail by evaluating the consistency of activity levels based on recent data from the past 2 weeks.

It can be helpful to understand how you’re sleeping and then make necessary adjustments through sleep coaching.

Sleep Coaching^[5] makes this simple by seamlessly tracking your sleep patterns over 7 days and assigning a sleep animal based on the results. With a personally tailored coaching program, develop healthy habits and routines that set you on a positive path to achieving your sleep goals.

[1] Findings analysed sleep data of Samsung Health users via Galaxy Watch series and Galaxy Ring during DST in the spring of 2024.

[2] https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/

[3] Not intended for use in the detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring or management of any medical condition. Certain features may vary by market, carrier or paired device.

[4] Sleep Environment report feature will be available on smartphone with One UI 7 and Samsung Health app version 6.29.5 or later.

[5] Requires sleep data of at least 7 days, including 2 days off.