The early morning of last Sunday we advance the clock one hour, at 2 it was 3 o'clock, just like every spring to adapt to summer time. With this measure of time change, energy is saved, and in these moments of confinement our electricity bill will appreciate it, but What happens to the biorhythms of children and babies? How does this change affect you and even more so is this exceptional situation?
One of the moments in which we could see more clearly how that time change had occurred was when last Sunday, at 8PM, we went out the balconies and windows, we wanted to applaud the health personnel, and the sun remained out.
How does the time change affect children?
We know that Boys and girls are the most sensitive to time changes. It causes sleep disturbances, attention problems, irritability, anger, fatigue and discouragement.
If we add to this that we have already been in confinement for two weeks, and in some municipalities three, the combination can be explosive. In the same way that you have explained the reasons for the confinement explain the time change. Do it with words according to their level of understanding, tell them that in the morning when they wake up it will be more night than before, but the afternoons will be longer.
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) and other institutions have advised us keep routines, or create new dailyities in our days of confinement. In these first days of time change this advice we must comply with yes or yes. It is important that Even if it is daytime, let us not delay his time to go to sleep.
Tips for lockdown and time change
One of the advantages that we want to see from confinement is that we can make a gradual adaptation to children's biorhythms. For example, even following the routine of each day, begin to lift it 15 minutes earlier than usual. In this way the change will not be so abrupt, from one day to the next.
An increase in the hours of daylight, for children, adults and babies, makes us more animated and with greater optimismor. Make the most of daylight hours in sunny rooms. Your children will appreciate it, because it is essential to synthesize vitamins and, at the same time, vitamin D increases the immune system, something essential these days.
It is also possible that when you see the light of day, and know that the next day there is no school, interpret it as vacation, and become more rebellious to go to bed. We recommend you keep the dinner routines, hot water bath and accompany them with a reading or as you have custom. Lower the blinds in your room to filter the light.
If in your case, you are with a nursing babyIt is enough to advance the intake by ten minutes every two or three days, and there will be a natural adaptation.
Other adaptation guidelines to follow
We remind you that pediatricians recommend that children rest a minimum of 10 hours daily. And if we talk about preschool children, it is convenient to raise the hours of sleep to 11 or 12. Although we are living in an exceptional situation, do not delay going to sleep, in order to ensure a good rest.
In these cases we can only recommend staying calm and having patience, because this time change produces hormonal disorientation in the smallest. The brain is confused and needs a time or adaptation process to re-synchronize the activities that it had programmed.
As always, and these days we recommend that you practice physical activities, but not before sleeping, monitor your sleep hours during the day and try not to use electronic devices before going to sleep. These affect your alertness and make it difficult to sleep.
And remember, everything is temporary, everything has an end, the effects of time changes and confinement itself.