Community Cancer Center Renamed Foley Cancer Center Hospital Partners with Vermont Fresh Network Relax, Renew, Restore Stress Reduction Community Cancer Center Receives Partner Award RRMC Physician Awarded Certification RRMC awarded accreditation in Nuclear Medicine How to sleep well during daylight savings Hospital Sponsors Blood Pressure Machine at Mall Matter of Balance Classes Medicaid Underfunding New Procedure for Women With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Letter to the Editor Therapist Receives Lymphedema Certification Doctors find 1 in 10 knee fractures from ski injury missed Ask Me! Online Bill-Pay for new website Targeting Cancer with Technology Softball Tournament Hits a Home Run for Cancer Center Hospital Will Keep Lab Open

How to sleep well during daylight savings
Mar 07, 2007

Advice From Sleep Experts On Daylight Savings

Hospital Sleep Center urges people to plan ahead so you don’t loose sleep over daylight savings.

Rutland, VT – The federal government moved Daylight Savings ahead by three weeks to ensure people get more natural light and use less electricity. But what does this mean for our own sleep cycle and how will we be affected by the change this year?

According to Dr. Roslinde M. Collins, Medical Director of the Sleep Center at Rutland Regional Medical Center , when we loose that one hour during daylight savings in the spring, it takes at least one day for our brains adjust. Most people will not do anything different during daylight savings, which will most likely prolong your adjustment period.

Here are some helpful tips from Dr. Collins on how to get a good nights rest during daylight savings, which is on Sunday, March 11.

• Plan ahead – start going to bed earlier a few days before daylight savings, so your body and brain gradually adjust to the change of time.
• Don’t give up that entire hour of sleep that’s lost on Sunday, give up an hour of some other activity like watching television.
• Avoid caffeine after noontime so your body is able to rest when you go to bed.
• When you wake up or your alarm goes off, get up out of bed and expose your self to some natural light. This acts like light therapy and helps adjust your sleep cycle to the correct pattern.
• Wake up at the same time in morning, don’t hit the snooze button.
• Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night

The Sleep Center at RRMC is Vermont’s only Accredited Sleep Center by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. According to the AASM, the accreditation is the gold standard by which the medical community and the public can evaluate sleep standards for accreditation ensure that sleep medicine providers display and maintain proficiency in areas , policies, patient safety and follow-up, and physician and staff training. The Sleep Center at RRMC has been accredited since 2000.

For more information about the Sleep Center at RRMC, or to be evaluated by Dr. Collins, please call 802.747.3792.

###