The clock change and your child's sleep: easing into winter time

What actually happens on 25 October 2026?

The clocks go back an hour, but your child's body keeps its own rhythm. A child who used to wake at 7 a.m. will open their eyes around 6 a.m. on winter time, and one who fell asleep at 8 p.m. will be sleepy by 7 p.m. That is normal: the body clock keeps running on the old schedule until it has had time to reset.

The "extra" hour is also partly an illusion. A review of the research on clock changes found little evidence of genuinely extra sleep on the night the clocks go back. It also noted that earlier waking over the following days adds up to a small net loss of sleep across the week. With toddlers, who tend to be early risers anyway, those earlier mornings are especially noticeable.

This is not the same as jet lag when travelling: your child stays at home, with the same daylight and the same school or nursery routine. There is only one hour to absorb, and no time zone to cross.

Should you shift your child's bedtime before the clocks change?

It isn't compulsory. Two approaches work for the move to winter time, and the gradual approach suits children who are sensitive to changes in routine better. It means moving bedtime about 10 to 15 minutes later each day over the three or four days before Sunday 25th. If you can, wake-up, meals and naps follow the same pattern. By the time the clocks go back, most of the gap is already closed.

The simpler option is to switch straight to winter time on the Sunday and split the difference for the first few evenings. Dr Chris Seton, a paediatric sleep physician at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Australia, suggests that for most children bedtime be set halfway between the old and new schedules. That means 30 minutes earlier than usual by the clock, then eased back to the normal time over the following days. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) also recommends small steps of 15 to 30 minutes.

What to avoid: putting your child to bed much earlier just because it is dark at 6 p.m. Dr Seton points out that a child sent to bed too early may lie awake, which tends to end in frustration rather than sleep.

Baby, toddler, school-age child: what changes with age

The younger the child, and the more regular their routine, the more the clock change shows. With a baby, the easiest route is to move feeds and naps together in small steps rather than shifting everything by an hour on Sunday morning. A baby asking for a bottle at 6 a.m. instead of 7 is simply following their body, not being difficult.

For toddlers aged one to three, the nap is often the first thing to slip: if it moves an hour earlier, the rest of the day follows. The gradual shift, or the "halfway" bedtime, helps most at this age.

School-age children usually adapt faster, not least because school sets a fixed timetable from Monday. As for teenagers, whose body clocks tend to run late, keeping their usual bedtime often gives them, as Dr Seton notes, a genuinely extra hour of sleep.

Light in the morning and in the evening

Light is the most direct way to reset your child's body clock, and the move to winter time means using it in both directions. In the morning, until the planned wake-up time, a properly dark room (blackout curtains, shutters closed) stops early daylight from waking your child even sooner.

Once it is time to get up, open the curtains wide and get outside during the day to help the body register that it is daytime. Bright morning light lowers melatonin and makes waking easier. In the evening, on the other hand, dim the lights and keep screens away: their light keeps the brain alert and pushes sleep back.

Naps during the transition

Naps follow the same pattern as bedtime: shift them in small steps rather than all at once. If your child is flagging an hour earlier than usual, you can bring the nap forward by half an hour for the first few days, then ease it back towards its usual time.

Watch out for a nap that stretches to make up for a very early start: it eats into evening tiredness and pushes bedtime later. It is better to keep the nap at its usual length and let the bedtime routine do the rest.

How long does a child take to adjust to winter time?

Most children are back in their rhythm within one to two weeks of the move to winter time. That is the time frame CHOP's sleep specialists give for a child who keeps a consistent bedtime routine. Signs it is on track: your child wakes at their usual time by the clock again, falls asleep without a struggle and is back to their normal daytime mood.

In the meantime, a steady bedtime routine acts as an anchor: same steps, same story, same order, whatever the clock says. If the difficulties last beyond two weeks, CHOP advises talking to your child's doctor.

In spring, on Sunday 28 March 2027, it goes the other way: the clocks go forward an hour, and that is the harder change because it takes sleep away. A study of American high school students measured 32 minutes less sleep per school night after the switch to daylight saving time. The same gradual shift applies, this time putting your child to bed a little earlier each evening.