Tips for Shifting Your Schedule {Time Change, Time Zones}

Tips for shifting your schedule. This post outlines how to change your child’s schedule for the time  change or for traveling to different time zones. You can also use these tips to change the schedule to fit your needs better.

Tired child rubbing eyes

There will be many times as you go throughout your years as a parent that you will find you want to shift or tweak your schedule somewhat. You might want to move what time your little one wakes up in the morning, goes to bed at night, or takes a nap each day.

There are many reasons you might want to shift your schedule. You might be faced with a time change where you are moving your clocks forward or backward one hour. You might be traveling to a different time zone, either for a visit or for a move. You might be welcoming a new baby to the home. You might just want it changed because shifting it some would make more sense in your family at the current moment.

No matter your reason for shifting, strategies for doing so are the same.

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Different Ways to Shift the Schedule

Here are some strategies for you to try to get your schedule shifted to where you want it to be.

Slow and Steady Shift

If you are in a situation where you can shift the schedule slowly, this is a really easy way to approach the time change. I find this to be the best method with babies, pre-toddlers (12-18 months), and young toddlers.

If your child is one who doesn’t handle change well and you know waketime length is crucial down to the minute, this is also the best strategy for you even if you have an older toddler or young preschooler.

This method likely will not work for you if you have your schedule designed to work around your work schedule or an older child’s school schedule.

The benefit of this method is that it is pretty low-impact on the child. The change are so slow and minimal that the child easily and slowly adjusts.

The downside to this method is that your normal schedule is totally off for about a month–at least two weeks will be really off. That can be frustrating.

Here is how it works:

  • Decide on a timeline. The whole thing takes 3-4 weeks, so you can start 3-4 weeks before your change or start two weeks before and work on it two weeks after, or one week before and work on it 2-3 weeks after…it is up to you.
  • Week one: Move your schedule by 15 minutes. So if you are changing so your clocks are moving back (what is now 7 AM will become 6 AM), and your child wakes at 7:30, during this week, wake your child at 7:45 instead. You can slowly move it back during this first week or fully move it back. If your child wakes at 7:30, slowly move the time the child eats closer to 7:45 so the metabolism shifts to expecting that time. Shift the rest of the day, also. So if nap typically starts at 9:30, move it to 9:45. Move bedtime back, also.
  • Week two: Move it by another 15 minutes. You are now 30 minutes off of your typical schedule.
  • Week three: Move it another 15 minutes so you are 45 minutes off of your typical schedule. An alternative is to take the full plunge and just move it 30 minutes this week. If you do, plan on a couple of weeks to adjust.
  • Week four: Finish the move off by moving it another 15 minutes. You should now be at your goal and will have shifted your schedule.

If you have a more flexible child, you could try doing this in two weeks with 30-minute intervals, or even 15-minute intervals every few days. This is for you to decide.

I have never had any major issues with the time change. My kids have all done well with my slow and steady approach. If you have the patience for it, it works well. 

Slow and Steady Shift Sped Up

You can also speed up the slow and steady shift. You can fit the idea into whatever time frame you have. Do you have a week you can be flexible with? Then change things every two days. Maybe you only have the weekend. Then shift things over the two days.

For two and older, I usually take the faster approach. I will do one week before the time change and one week after the time change, adjusting 30 minutes each week as I go.

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Cold Turkey

Cold turkey often works okay for older children. It is often also necessary with older children because of school schedules. You can try the slow and steady sped up approach with older children, but sometimes you just go all out and cold turkey. 

It is often necessary to go cold turkey with older children because they have a school schedule that they have to follow, so you can’t shift their days slowly.

If you have early time constraints in the morning (you work, your child is in school, your child has a lesson of some sort), be sure to take that into consideration when deciding on a method to use. Cold turkey might be best for you. This might also be true if you have evening time constraints because shifting the schedule means a changing bedtime.

To do the cold turkey method, you just wake up that first day of time change and do the new schedule.

If you have children old enough to tell time or who use an “okay to wake clock” (this is the one we use: American Innovative Teach Me Time! Talking Alarm Clock and Nightlight), be sure you set your clocks the night before.

Tell your child the time is changing and it will feel like it is time to get up before/after it is. Tell your child to stay in bed until the appropriate time. You can let older kids look at books in bed if needed.

You need to be prepared that if you do cold turkey, there will be some time of adjustment. There will likely be 2-4 weeks where your child is tired because the schedule just got shifted.

Your child will have a hard time staying up late enough, going to bed earlier enough, waking up in the morning, or staying asleep in the morning–all depending on which way things shifted for you.

Metabolism will also be off as meals are at different times. 


Read: Time Change for Older Children


Tips for shifting your schedule. This post outlines how to change your child's schedule for the time  change or for traveling to different time zones. You can also use these tips to change the schedule to fit your needs better.

Shifting the Schedule for Travel

So how do you apply this to travel? Personally, I don’t usually try to shift things on vacation. I usually just keep our same schedule on vacation as would have at home, so if we are visiting a time zone earlier than ours, then we are waking up an hour earlier while there. I have done this even since Brayden was a baby.

For example, if I am visiting a time zone one hour behind mine, and we typically get up at 7 AM, then I will just get everyone up at 7 AM local time while there. If we were in a time zone one hour ahead of ours, I would wake everyone up at 8 AM local time.

This doesn’t always work if your activities for the day do not allow you to sleep later for the local time. 

It is worth noting that studies have found it is easier for the body to travel west than to the east. The body adjusts easier to western travel than eastern. 

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Tips for Adjusting Time Change Quickly

However your schedule is changing, there are things you can do to make your adjustment as fast as possible (though some say you never really can fully adjust to artificial time).

Manage Light: Light has a huge impact on sleep. Light tells your body when to make melatonin. Have exposure to light as early as possible when you wake up and keep the light low when it is time to sleep. You can also help your body adjust by getting direct sun around noon each day. 


Read: The Sun and Sleep and Regulatory Sleep Systems  and Circadian Rythym for more on how light impacts sleep


Sleep Routines and Environment: You want to have a good sleep routine as a signal to the body that it is time to sleep. Rituals are powerful signals to the brain. You also want to avoid foods or drinks that make it hard to sleep. It is also super helpful to have a very consistent morning wakeup time and consistent bedtime.


Read: The Importance of a Consistent Bedtime


Conclusion

You might have reasons for needing it shifted. If so, just apply the strategy of your choice listed above. You might need to start your day at a different time to fit the schedule around a sibling, a school schedule, or a new work schedule. Whatever the reason, adjust in the way that works best for your family. 

I do get a lot of questions following a time change that start “everything was perfect until the time change….”, so do take the time to think through and plan ahead. Having a game plan, or at least being mentally prepared for disruption, helps so much!

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Reader Time Change Questions and Comments

  1. JESSICA
    I was just thinking about this the other day. Thanks for the reminder. Game plan time! 😉
  2. LONNIE AND AYMEE

    Thank you so much for this reminder. I am new to the States and when time change came last year I didn’t know what to do, so I left it the same. That meant that our 7am wake time became 6am! That was the worst winter ever for me, because I didn’t realize that during December-March the sun would be up around 8am, lol. So thank you for the reminder, this year we will definetely make the change!

  3. SUSANNA
    Valerie, What if you have a 5 month old (who will be well over 6 months old when the time change occurs!) who isn’t STTN? Would you recommend adjusting our schedule a month in advance if she’s still waking once at night (usually 5 a.m.-ish which would mean it would be 4 a.m. with Fall Back)? I would think if she still isn’t STTN, I would just do what I’m doing now which is feed her on one side and then wait her out til our desired waketime as much as possible. Any thoughts?Also, any thoughts on how to get her to STTN?! I’m not ready for CIO since she’s a reflux baby and is on meds for it and I honestly can’t do CIO in the middle of the night. Thanks,Susanna
    PLOWMANATORS
    Susanna, for STTN, see the post “nightime sleep issues, revised and updated”. As for the time change, I might do two weeks before and two weeks after. So 15 minutes each week for 4 weeks.
  4. MATT, JENNIE, AND NOELLE OURS
    Hello, Well, I missed the time change prep this fall and this is my first baby – 11 months old. Just like you indicated her 7 is now 6 am. I’ve read and re-read the strategies, but still am not getting how to help her transition now that the change has occurred and her naps and everything are disrupted. She is waking at 5:30 or 6 am instead of 6:30-7 am. We don’t go and get her b/c we of your “metabolism” section and she will talk to herself for 30 min – 1 hr so we’re waiting to feed her at 6:30 am when she starts fussing/crying for someone. Any tips? I’m not sure what time to move in the morning with the wakeup time since she is waking up on her own. We put her to bed at 7:30 pm at night. After the time change she has barely been able to stay awake until 7pm. Thanks for your help!!!
  5. PLOWMANATORS
    Jennie, Typically what you would do is wait 15 extra minutes before getting her up for a week. So you would get her at 5:45 instead of 5:30…But I think you should just go with your current strategy. Get her up at 6:30. Put her down for nap times at specific times. Put her to bed at a specific time–but do respect her possible need for a bit of an early bedtime or you will have an overly tired baby. Stick with that and after several weeks, she should kick in to it being normal for her.

TIME CHANGE DIFFICULTIES

  • Heather said… So sorry to be off the subject, but my question pertains to my 13 month old. She has been greatly affected by the time change, and is getting at least an hour less of sleep at night, as well as taking short (45 minute) naps in the morning and afternoon. Any ideas? Do you think it is all is b/c of the time change, or is something else going on?
  • Katherine said… Heather I am dealing with the same thing with my 5 month old. He’s waking up 1-1.5 hours earlier in the mornings (I just leave him but I hate that he’s awake) and his naps are ridiculous. He’s waking up 45 minutes into them, fussing for about an hour, and then finally falling back asleep for 45 min-1hour. He used to wake up at 45 minutes and fuss for maybe 5-10 minutes, now it’s literally an hour. Will this work itself out if I continue to “ignore” him? I watch him on the video monitor so of course I know he’s fine…
  • heather said… Katherine-Don’t you love your video monitor? I don’t know what I’d do without it! 🙂 Any luck for you this morning? We were still over an hour early. Will this ever work itself out???? I’m hoping for better naps today.
  • Katherine said… Oh I really don’t know what I’d do w/o the video monitor. It’s such a sanity saver! Up early this am, but he actually took a pretty decent morning nap. Working on nap #2 right now. He’s in there squealing like a little girl 🙂 It’s his newest “skill” haha.
  • Rachel Stella said… My son always “squeals like a girl” and my husband and I always joke that we have a cat in the other room!
  • Plowmanators said… Heather, I would bet it is the time change. The short naps are likely because she is getting less sleep at night. See this post Time Change Troubleshooting
  • Plowmanators said… Katherine, I suggest the same post to you 🙂
  • C. said… This is not at all related to time changes and be prepared, it’s a big long question: my son is almost 5 weeks old. He was 8 lb 11 oz at birth and is now over 10 lbs. He is feeding an average of 10 times per day. He wakes himself for each feeding, so he is basically on a 2.5 hour schedule, except at night when he tends to go longer. I’m not sure how to stretch him out longer. I try to get him to eat as much as I can at each feeding, but past a certain point he flat out will not eat anymore, even if I force the bottle into his mouth. I don’t let him go more than 3 hours between feedings during the day. I’m not sure if just waiting for the 3 hours to lapse before I feed him again is the answer since he does seem to wake up hungry or if there is some way to get him to eat more at each feeding. Help! After reading over my logs a little more, I realized the issue is not that he’s hungry that often… it’s the 45 minute intruder that makes him wake up every 2-2.5 hours. Not that this makes things any easier, but it’s nice to know what I’m dealing with. I thought 4 weeks was a little young for this issue, but I’m looking over everything else on the site for ideas. At this point all that helps is a pacifier, but the only way he can keep it in his mouth is to lay him on his stomach… yikes!
  • Plowmanators said… C., it just requires time for him to be able to make it longer.If he is waking after 45 minutes, that means he is staying awake for more than 1.5 hours at a time. That is really too long for a baby that age. Even now that he is 8 weeks, that is a long time. I would take him back to about a one hour wake time and see how he does. See the blog label “optimal waketime” for more.
  • Heather said… First, thank you SO MUCH for this blog! As a first-time mom, there is so much information out there that it’s hard to know who to trust! And since this information is coming from a fellow BabyWise mom, I know that I can at least use it as a guideline for my own little girl! My question has to do with a time change, but not the Daylight Savings end this Sunday. We just found out that we will be moving to England next April, and while we’re thrilled we obviously are concerned about the wrench it will throw into our daughter’s schedule. She will be about eight months old when we move, and we’ll be going ahead six hours from our current time zone (Central). What would you suggest we do to make the transition as painless as possible? Obviously, adjusting her schedule too far in advance will not work because we’d be waking her up at 1:30am for her first feeding (YIKES!). Would you suggest just waiting until we get there to adjust her schedule, or do you think there is something we can do while we’re stateside to help ease the transition for her?
  • Plowmanators said… Heather,I suggest you read through the traveling posts. Many moms have shared experiences with time zone changes. Most just wait until they get there and change. The sun helps change your body’s rhythym, so sun exposure is good. 6 hours is a big enough difference that I bet she will adjust rather quickly.

4 thoughts on “Tips for Shifting Your Schedule {Time Change, Time Zones}”

  1. I just read your "lessons from a mother" over at the cradle coach and just had to stop by. Can't wait to glean some good suggestions.

    Reply
  2. I have read in a number of your posts that feeding a baby at a consistent time each morning helps that baby learn to wake at the feeding time. I have not had as much success with this strategy as you have, though. 🙁 My daughter (now almost one year old) has ALWAYS been fed at 7:00 a.m., but still almost always wakes between 6:30 and 6:45 and just plays in her crib until I came in at 7:00 to feed her. This leads me to believe that her morning wake-up time is driven primarily by her unique bio-rhythms, and not as much by metabolism. This is frustrating, since I feel powerless to change her wake-up time. Since she is my first child and I am a stay-at-home mom, I have no reason to be up before 7:00 a.m. and consider the 6:00 hour an unacceptable waking time–but I don't know how to convince my daughter of this. Weissbluth says that some babies just have biorhythms that dictate they wake up at certain times (he gives the example of 5:30 a.m.–yikes!). But I loathe to accept that as fact. Have you ever ran across other Babywise moms who expressed frustration at being unable to get their babies to sleep in until feeding time? Do you have any secondary suggestions if the "feed baby later" tactic isn't enough? Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Hi Valerie!I currently have a 7 week old that is thriving on Babywise and has just started sleeping from 11-6:30 every night. We live overseas in the Middle East and will be traveling back to Houston at the end of March, Houston is 9 hours behind where we live currently. I read your article about transitioning slowly, but how do I apply this to a baby when there is a 9 hour time difference between where we live in the Middle East and Houston, TX? I'm really worried about my daughter staying on her Babywise schedule that we've worked so hard to achieve. We will be in Houston for 3 weeks if that helps. Should we just cold-turkey transition her? Do we start on the plane ride over (17 hour flight) or do we start when we arrive in Houston. Any help appreciated! Thanks, Allison

    Reply
  4. Hi, I have a question similar to Allison’s from 2014, but can’t find an answer to hers. My baby is 4months old and we’ve done babywise from the very beginning. He was born early so he just started sleeping through the night last week – and is now sleeping 12 hours. awesome! But in a few weeks we will be travelling to a time zone with a 6 hour time difference and will be there for 10 days. I don’t want to wake up at 3 am every day on vacation – but i also don’t want to ruin what we’ve worked so hard to achieve. even if we do adjust his schedule, I’m not sure how. suggestions?

    Reply

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