This Week in Real Estate 3-6-2015 - DST

DST doesn’t have to be a black Monday

The dreaded spring forward. But now with extra Daylight Savings Time (DST) we are springing forward when the in most of the country there is still feet of snow on the ground. WebMD.com has some good tips on surviving the time change.

Survival Tips

How to offset Monday-morning drag?

Prepare yourself! Make the time change incrementally beforehand. "Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier and earlier for five days or so," Sassower suggests. "It helps. When the time change hits, you're already there. It's the same advice I give to people who are traveling out of the country."

Indeed, daylight-saving time is much like jet lag -- "the older you are, the more difficulty you will have," says Dennis H. Nicholson, MD, director of Sleep Disorders Center at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in California. "It will take one to two days to reprogram."

On Saturday:

Around midday, get some vigorous exercise. "Exercise helps advance the body clock, just as bright light exposure does," says Glass.

Don't exercise too late in the day. "Exercise raises your body temperature," explains Nicholson. "People get sleepy as their body temperature goes down, not when it's elevated."

Sunday morning:

Get up at your regular time -- whether you had a good night's sleep or not. "Don't let yourself sleep in," says Nicholson. "If you stay in bed, your body will never adjust."

Spend an hour or more outside, preferably in the sunshine. "That's hard for folks to do, but it's very important," Glass says. "Sunlight is especially helpful in advancing your body clock."

Take a morning walk. After a short night, walking is an easy exercise that will help advance your body clock, says Glass.

Good "sleep hygiene" also helps:

Don't eat a heavy meal before bedtime.

Don't drink a lot of caffeine or alcohol.

Don't nap during the day, or at least keep it brief -- 10 to 15 minutes.

Stop working on any task an hour before bedtime to calm down.

Don't discuss emotional issues at bedtime.

Make sure your sleep environment is comfortable.

Don't turn lights on at night. Use a small night-light instead.

Tip of the week.

DST is also supposed to remind us to so many chores around the home.

1.      Change the batteries in your smoke detectors

2.      Change the batteries in your CO detectors

3.      Change the filters for your furnace/AC

4.      Clean your gutters

5.      Drain your water heater

6.      Flip your mattress

7.      Check your pantry and medicine cabinet for expired products

8.      Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans

-Kris