Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, and that means for the majority of the United States, the clocks will spring forward one hour.
Losing an hour can really mess with your sleep. It can take days for your body to adjust to darker mornings, and the shift to more light in the evening can leave your circadian rhythm out of sync, reports NPR's Allison Aubrey.
Prepare yourself for the time change and sign up for Life Kit's Guide to Better Sleep, a limited-run newsletter series that originally launched in June 2024. Over the course of a week, we'll send you strategies to help you sleep better, deeper and longer so you can quickly get your sleep back on track.
How to sign up
To sign up for this one-week newsletter series, click here and enter your email address. You'll get a welcome email from us, followed by three emails packed with science-backed tips to improve your sleep that very night.
Find out how to create a relaxing bedtime routine, manage nightly screen time and how diet and exercise affect sleep.
What our NPR readers say about this series
Since it launched last year, tens of thousands of people have subscribed to Life Kit's Guide to Better Sleep. Here's what some of our audience members say about the series. These responses have been edited for length and clarity.
I thought I had heard all the tips but these are great. I didn't know that going from a warm environment to a cold one, like a cool room, can promote sleep. I'm a bath person, so it's nice to be told I can do what I like to do! —Janie Cox
I felt validated that the habits I've acquired over the years are ones you also recommend. The point about not worrying about not getting enough sleep made me feel better. I've never been a good sleeper but being overly concerned about it certainly doesn't help. —Jeannie Smith
I saved these newsletters for a time when I had the space to evaluate my sleep hygiene and see where I could improve. One thing I found reassuring is that no two nights of sleep look the same, and our bodies change their patterns as we age. I think I have been hoping to regain the sleep of my past when the reality is that my health has changed significantly since then. I may need to reevaluate what "a good night's sleep" looks like for me now. —Denise Taylor Denault
After this newsletter series ends, you'll receive weekly emails from Life Kit on lifestyle topics like health, money, relationships and more.
The digital story was edited by Clare Marie Schneider. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.
Copyright 2025 NPR
