How to Nourish Your Wellbeing When the Clocks Fall Back

Daylight saving time ends this Sunday, November 1, 2026.

We get an extra hour of sleep, and then the sun starts setting before a lot of us are even off work.

If the first week after the time change hits you harder than you expected, you're not doing anything wrong. Your body is adjusting.

Why the time change feels like a lot

Our bodies keep time with the sun. Morning light tells us it's time to wake up, and darkness tells us it's time to wind down.

When the clocks change, the light moves but our schedules don't. For a little while, our inner clock and the outer clock don't match, and we feel it in our sleep, our mood, and our energy.

Nature is slowing down right now. The trees are letting go and pulling their energy inward to make it through winter. We get to slow down too.

How to nourish your wellbeing as the clocks fall back

Get morning light. Step outside within the first hour or so of waking up, even for 10 minutes. Cloudy days still count.

Wind down earlier. When it's dark at 5pm, your body may want rest sooner. Let it. Dim the lights and put the phone down a little earlier.

Breathe. When your energy feels scattered or your mind won't settle at night, try this for a few minutes:

Five counts in.
Five counts out.

Hydrate. We tend to drink less water when it's cold. Warm water and herbal tea count.

Ask for support. Seasonal shifts in mood are real. Talk to someone you trust, and reach out to a doctor or mental health professional if it's more than a few rough days.

An extra hour is a gift

What if you spent it on you? Sleep in. Sit outside with your coffee. Call someone who makes you laugh.

If you'd like support along the way, The Wellspring has online yoga, breathwork, and courses you can move through at your own pace.

Be well,

💚 Woods

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Photos by Paul Henderson, Chidera Faustina Okeke, and Vladimir Yelizarov on Unsplash.