Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend, and I’ll admit: I’m not a fan of the early sunsets that come with it. Darkness falling at 5 p.m. makes me feel like the evening is over before it begins. But as much as I dislike the seasonal time change, it’s a perfect reminder of how powerfully light and darkness set our internal clocks — and why sleep deserves the same priority as the other two pillars of wellness: nutrition and exercise. Recently, I interviewed one of my favorite sleep experts, Erin Hanlon, Ph.D. a research associate professor at the University of Chicago, for my FUELED Wellness + Nutrition podcast. Dr. Hanlon studies how sleep and circadian rhythms affect everything from cravings and glucose control to weight and even kidney health. “Our sleep needs vary person to person,” she said. “But everyone benefits from optimal sleep duration and quality. For too long, we’ve treated sleep as the time left over after everything else. We need to flip that.” Why It Matters This is our fifth podcast interview together, and in earlier episodes we also explored the science behind sleep. For example, sleep affects hunger and the foods we crave. When we’re sleep-deprived, she said, we eat about 300 extra calories a day — mostly from ultra-processed foods. “Those appetite signals don’t go up for fruits and vegetables,” Hanlon said. “They go up for sweets and salty snack foods.” Lack of sleep can also affect mood, reaction time and inflammation throughout the body. It interferes with glucose regulation and can increase the risk a person will develop diabetes. There’s no question that prioritizing sleep isn’t just about feeling rested — it’s also a proven nutrition and metabolic strategy. Practical Ways to Protect Sleep The good news: Helping our bodies adjust to earlier darkness and keeping sleep strong year-round doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are the science-backed basics for better sleep Dr. Hanlon and I discussed on the podcast. Get morning light. Light is the strongest signal for our internal clocks. Aim for 10–15 minutes of outdoor light soon after waking, even on cloudy mornings. This helps suppress melatonin at the right time and sets us up to feel sleepy when bedtime arrives. Keep a consistent wake time. Bedtime matters, but wake time is really the true guide. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times — even on weekends — keeps circadian rhythms steady. This is easy to say, I know, but understandably harder to implement when real life happens. Give evenings a “dimmer switch.” An hour before bedtime, turn down the lights, shut down all screens and shift to calming activities like gentle stretching or reading a real book. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 to 30 minutes, get up and do something quiet under low light until you’re feeling sleepy again. Be mindful of caffeine and timing. Caffeine’s half-life means that a 2 p.m. coffee can still be active in our system at bedtime, subtly delaying the body’s natural rise in melatonin and making it harder to fall asleep. Everyone’s sensitivity is different, but many people sleep better when they stop consuming caffeine by late morning or early afternoon. Reconsider evening cocktails. Alcohol deserves its own caution sign. “Alcohol might help us to fall asleep, but it definitely doesn’t keep us asleep,” Hanlon explained. It acts as a sedative at first, Hanlon said, helping us doze off, but alcohol fragments deep sleep and short-circuits the REM cycles that restore our mind and body. Skip late-night snacks. Even a small serving of bread or dessert late at night can send glucose higher than the same food would earlier in the day. Melatonin, which rises in the evening, naturally inhibits insulin secretion. Finishing dinner a few hours before bed helps our body keep blood sugar levels stable. Know when to seek help. If sleep issues are interfering with your quality of life, consider discussing them with your healthcare provider. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can be an effective, unmedicated approach. A Closing Thought When it comes to wellness, much of our focus tends to be centered on eating well and staying active. True wellbeing, though, includes sleep as an equal component. “Sleep is essential for whole-body health — not only our energy and mood, but also peripheral organs like the pancreas, liver and kidneys,” Hanlon emphasized. As the days grow shorter, think of this time change as your cue to protect this third key element of wellness.
