On Sunday, November 1, the clocks fell back an hour. Most of us noticed it in small ways. The kids woke up "early." The sun was gone before dinner. Monday felt a little off and nobody could say exactly why.
I'm a therapist in Florida, and every year around this week I hear some version of the same thing: "I don't know what's wrong with me, I just feel flat." Often nothing is wrong. Sometimes the body is simply catching up to a new clock.
What the time change actually does
Your body runs on an internal clock, a roughly 24 hour rhythm that leans heavily on light, especially morning light. When the clock on the wall moves and the light moves with it, that internal clock takes a few days to follow.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has said the seasonal clock changes can disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms, and it supports ending them in favor of permanent standard time. Falling back in November is usually easier on the body than springing forward in March. Easier is not the same as nothing, though. For some people it shows up as broken sleep, earlier waking, lower energy or a shorter fuse for a week or two.
"But it's Florida. We have sun."
We do, and that matters. Seasonal mood changes tend to be less common closer to the equator; in one well known survey, winter depression was reported far less often in Florida than in New Hampshire. So I don't want to overstate it.
I see it differently than "Floridians are immune," though. Even here, the day gets shorter, more of our light comes from screens in the evening, and the routines that kept us steady in summer quietly shift. The holidays start pulling on time, money and family patterns. For many people the change isn't dramatic. It's a slow drift, and drifts are easy to miss.
Small things that help
These are educational ideas, not treatment, and they're small on purpose.
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Get light early
Ten to twenty minutes outside in the morning, even on a cloudy day, gives your internal clock its clearest signal. A walk with coffee counts.
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Keep wake time steady
Bedtime can flex a little; a consistent wake time does most of the work, weekends included.
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Dim the evening
The sun sets earlier now, but our screens don't. Lowering lights and screens in the last hour before bed helps sleep come easier.
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Move your body during daylight
Even a short walk at lunch does double duty: light and movement.
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Name the drift
Sometimes the most useful thing is just saying it out loud: "This is the week after the time change. I may feel off, and that's okay."
For families, teens and couples
Kids often feel the change first, waking early and melting down by dinner. Shift their bedtime gradually and protect morning light before school.
Teens already run on a later clock. An earlier sunset plus late screens can push sleep later still. A steady wake time and a phone that charges outside the bedroom help more than any lecture.
Couples can feel it as more irritability with each other. When both people are tired, small things get bigger. It can help to say, "We're both running low this week," before it turns into an argument about the dishes.
When it's more than the clock
A rough week after the time change is common. Feeling down most days for two weeks or more, losing interest in things you usually enjoy, big changes in sleep or appetite, or thoughts of not wanting to be here are different. That's worth talking to someone about. If you're in crisis, call or text 988. If you're in danger right now, call 911.
Go gently this month
The clock moved one hour. Your body will catch up. In the meantime, give yourself the same patience you'd give a child who woke up an hour early: a little more light, a little more rest, and a little less judgment. You got this.
If you'd like support this season, I'm accepting new clients for online therapy across Florida, for adults, teens, couples and kids, in English and Spanish. You can book here.
Juan Carlos Martell, LMHC
Sources
- Rishi MA, et al. (2020). Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 16(10), 1781 to 1784. doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8780
- Rosen LN, et al. (1990). Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder at four latitudes. Psychiatry Research, 31(2), 131 to 144. doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(90)90116-M