On Sunday 26th October 2025, the clocks went back by one hour, here in the UK, bringing with it a whole extra hour in bed! British Summer Time (BST) will end and we return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
At 2am, the clocks go back to 1am again, and that’s how we ‘gain’ that extra hour in bed.
An extra hour sounds good, but how will it affect you and your sleep? Dr Lindsay Browning explores what the clocks changing means for your body.
Why do the clocks change in October?
The reason for this clock change is so that the mornings are lighter. Historically, this was implemented to help protect children who may be walking to school in the dark, from potential road traffic accidents.
Although the spring clock change (when we “lose” an hour’s sleep) is typically associated with an increase in many problems, including:
- sleep disruption (Lahti, et al., 2008)
- mood disturbance (Hansen, et al., 2017)
- hospital errors (Kolla, et al., 2021)
- suicide (Berk, et al. 2008)
- road traffic accidents (Zhou & Li., 2022)
The autumn clock change is typically more favourable. This is because the increase in morning light and reduction in evening light are more helpful for supporting our circadian rhythm, to help us fall asleep earlier at night.
However, many people don’t like this clock change because it means that the evenings get dark really early, which can lead to many people going to work in the dark and getting home from work when it’s still dark.
Also, this lack of light exposure can affect mood (such as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD). Plus, if people don’t get outdoors in the natural daylight, this can affect our circadian rhythm negatively, because it relies on bright light exposure during the day, to know the difference between day and night.
The clock change and the extra hour in bed sounds like an excellent opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep on the specific day it changes. However, not everyone will find the clock change a positive thing for their sleep. For some people, the change can cause problems with their sleeping patterns. They may find it harder to fall asleep at the new time and they may not wake up feeling as refreshed in the morning.
If you have young children, then the clocks going back will probably not give you an extra hour of sleep because children will tend to wake up naturally at the same time as they always do! When the clocks go back, your baby or toddler may just wake at 6am instead of 7am anyway.
6 sleep tips for improving sleep when the clocks go back
Here are my top 6 sleep tips for coping with the change and improving sleep when the clocks change at the end of October:
1. Plan ahead
A few days before the clocks change it’s a good idea to start adjusting to the new time (GMT) before it actually happens, so that you get used to falling asleep and waking up later. Gradually, move your bedtime and waketime later in the days before the clocks change, so that you get used to falling asleep and waking up later.
For example, one option is to start going to bed 20 minutes later than usual on Thursday night, and set your morning alarm for 20 minutes later than usual on Friday morning. Then, on Friday night go to bed 40 minutes later than your usual bedtime, and wake up 40 minutes later than your usual wake time on Saturday morning. Then, on Saturday night, go to bed one hour later, and set your wake alarm for your usual wake time Sunday morning (assuming you have a smartwatch/phone that will naturally adjust the time overnight). This way, you will already be on the correct time zone when the clocks change. If you do this, you won’t benefit by having an additional hour in bed, but you will find it much easier to fall asleep and wake up on time on Monday morning, because you are already in that correct time zone.
If you want to make the change even less noticeable (such as for babies) then you can do the same process as above much more slowly with 10 minute increments (instead of 20) starting at least a week before.
2. Move meal times
When you eat helps to tell your circadian rhythm what time it is. Therefore, in the days before the clocks change, it’s a good idea to start moving your meal times a little bit later, as well as moving your bedtime and wake time. Keeping consistent meal times (such as having a regular time for breakfast, lunch and dinner) will help maintain your circadian rhythm (Wehrens, et al., 2017).
3. Reduce alcohol
Alcohol is a sedative. Therefore, it can help you to fall asleep more quickly (or more accurately pass out!), but it will reduce the quality of your sleep as a payoff.
As the alcohol is metabolised (processed by your body), it promotes wakefulness in the latter half of the night – meaning that you will wake more frequently in the early hours. Alcohol also affects your sleep stages, meaning that the sleep you do get won’t be as restorative. Lastly, alcohol can affect your breathing by reducing how well you keep your airway open during the night. Therefore, people who suffer from sleep apnoea may find their sleep even worse after drinking alcohol.
4. Take a warm bath or shower before bed
As you fall asleep, your core body temperature starts to drop which aids sleep. In fact, to help you fall asleep you can artificially warm yourself up before bed to prompt this temperature change. If you have a warm bath around an hour before bed, you will warm yourself up in the bath, and then when you get out of the bath, you will start to cool down. The simulates the natural temperature drop as you fall asleep, helping you to feel sleepy and ready for bed. Schedule in a bath an hour before your new bed time.
5. Limit caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant, and it fools your body into thinking that you should not feel sleepy, even if you are tired. Especially when the clocks change, try limiting any caffeine to before 2pm in the afternoon as caffeine has an approximate 6 hour half-life. This means that 6 hours after your last cup of caffeinated tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cola or energy drink, half the caffeine will still be in your system keeping you awake.
6. Seek out natural daylight
As natural bright daylight is the most powerful cue (or zeitgeber) for our circadian rhythm, it is so important to get outdoors every day to ensure your body clock stays on track. This is especially important in the winter when there are reduced daylight hours and the light from the sun itself is less potent.
Try to ensure that you get outside in the morning to get some natural daylight exposure to help anchor your circadian rhythm, and support the natural evening rise in melatonin that helps prepare you for sleep at night.
Managing time changes and your sleep
The clocks change twice a year, so save these tips to help you every time.
Feeling groggy with the clocks changing is actually very similar to what you can experience when travelling to different time zones. It is obviously more extreme the bigger the time difference.
To learn more about managing sleep and time changes read my blog about managing jetlag:
References
Berk M, Dodd S, Hallam K, Berk L, Gleeson J, Henry M. Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: the effect of daylight saving. Sleep Biol Rhythms. 2008;6(1):22–25
Hansen BT, Sønderskov KM, Hageman I, Dinesen PT, Østergaard SD. Daylight Savings Time transitions and the incidence rate of unipolar depressive episodes. Epidemiology. 2017;28(3):346–353
Kolla BP, Coombes BJ, Morgenthaler TI, Mansukhani MP. Increased patient safety-related incidents following the transition into daylight savings time. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36(1):51–54
Lahti TA, Leppämäki S, Lönnqvist J, Partonen T. Transitions into and out of daylight saving time compromise sleep and the rest-activity cycles. BMC Physiol. 2008;8(1):3
Wehrens, S., Christou, S., Isherwood, C., Middleton B., Gibbs, M.A., Archer, S.N., Skene, D.J. & Johnston, J.D. Meal Timing Regulates the Human Circadian System. Current Biology 2017, 27(12):1768-1775
Zhou R, Li Y. Traffic crash changes following transitions between daylight saving time and standard time in the United States: new evidence for public policy making. J Safety Res. 2022;83:119–127