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Clocks Going Back: A Week-Long Plan for Children's Sleep

By Chaz Bagri6 October 20267 min read

A black alarm clock and a small lamp sit on a white bedside table next to a bed with a floral pillowcase

Clocks going back and children's sleep: a seven-evening plan that moves bedtime 15 minutes at a time, and what to do when they wake at 5.45.

When the clocks go back, a child who usually wakes at 6.45 will wake at 5.45 by the new time, and be tired an hour early in the evening. The fix is to move bedtime later before the change, in small steps: The Sleep Charity suggests 10 to 15 minutes later every few nights. Here that becomes a seven-evening plan for children aged 3 to 8.

Saturday night goes fine. Then, at what the kitchen clock insists is 5.45, a small voice at the side of the bed asks whether it's morning yet, and the extra hour everyone was promised has gone.

This plan is for the week before that Sunday. It's written for children with a school run in it, so each move is small enough not to wreck a Wednesday.

When do the clocks go back, and what does it do to bedtime?

GOV.UK lists the date each year, and the rule doesn't change: the clocks go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October. They go forward again at 1am on the last Sunday in March.

Your child's body doesn't know any of that. On the Sunday evening, 6pm by the new clock feels like 7pm to a body still running on summer time, so a child with a 7pm bedtime starts yawning an hour early. In the morning it runs the other way: their usual 6.45 wake-up arrives when the clock says 5.45.

Why start a week early?

The clock change week is a handful of small bedtime moves made before the change, so that by Saturday night bedtime is already on the new time. The Sleep Charity's advice to parents is to move bedtime 10 to 15 minutes later every few nights in the week leading up to it. Everything in your bedtime routine stays the same. Only the time moves.

There's one catch for school-age children. You can't move a school morning, so a later bedtime on a weekday is a slightly shorter night. That's why each move is only 15 minutes, and why most moves hold for a night before the next.

The plan: seven evenings, fifteen minutes at a time

Say your child goes to bed at 7pm and wakes at 6.45am. Four moves of 15 minutes take bedtime to 8pm by Saturday, which is 7pm on Sunday's clock. The other three evenings hold still so each move can settle. If your times are different, shift them by the same amounts; what time kids should go to bed has typical bedtimes by age.

The fixed point is the last five minutes before lights out: the same few poses on the floor, in the same order, every night. The bedtime moves; the wind-down doesn't.

1. Sunday: change nothing, add the wind-down (bedtime 7pm)

Keep bedtime where it is and add five minutes on the floor just before lights out: a minute each of flower, star and happy baby, then two minutes lying still with slow breaths. Expect giggling on the first night, because anything new at bedtime is funny.

2. Monday: the first move (bedtime 7.15pm)

Start the whole routine 15 minutes later, bath and story included, so the wind-down still comes last. If your child notices, a later bedtime is a treat, not a negotiation.

3. Tuesday: hold (bedtime 7.15pm)

Same time as Monday. A hold night lets the move settle, and it's your chance to check the morning: if they're dragging at 6.45, hold one more night before moving on.

4. Wednesday: the second move (bedtime 7.30pm)

Fifteen minutes later again. This is the shortest school night in the plan, 7.30pm to 6.45am, which is 11 hours and a quarter. That's still inside The Sleep Charity's general guide to how much sleep children need of 10 to 12 hours a night at three to six, and more than the 10 to 11 hours it gives from seven to 12, so even the shortest night isn't short.

5. Thursday: hold (bedtime 7.30pm)

The Sleep Charity's clock-change advice includes switching screens off at least an hour before bedtime. With bedtime later, that hour now starts at 6.30, so if there's a programme, it goes before tea rather than after. Screen time and sleep goes into that last hour properly.

6. Friday: the third move (bedtime 7.45pm)

No school tomorrow, so this move is the easy one. If they sleep later on Saturday morning, let them: the morning drifting later with the evening is the point.

7. Saturday: the last move (bedtime 8pm), then the clocks go back

Get outside during the day. The Sleep Charity suggests fresh air and exercise the day before the change, but not so much that they end up overtired. Bed at 8pm by the old clock. Overnight, 8pm becomes 7pm, so Sunday's bedtime is back to 7pm on the new clock, just as it was a week ago.

None of this needs a mat, and a rug works. If your child likes a picture to follow, though, the Freedom Flow mat has its poses laser-engraved and numbered, so flower is 1, star is 3 and happy baby is 13, and the wind-down is something they can find for themselves. The longer, slower sequence is in bedtime yoga for kids.

What about the morning they wake at 5.45?

It can still happen, especially with an early riser, so plan for it rather than hope. The Sleep Charity suggests that if your child wakes at their usual time, you encourage them to stay in bed a little longer, perhaps 30 minutes. It also points out that mornings will be lighter after the change, so blackout blinds or thicker curtains help.

Make the early wake as dull as you can. The NHS advice for night wakings is to be as boring as possible and leave the lights off, and the same works at 5.45: a book in bed, quiet voices, no screens. Then have breakfast at the usual time on the new clock, not the old one.

Does the extra hour mean a lie-in?

For the adults, probably not on the Sunday. Even The Sleep Charity's own guide for parents admits the clocks going back "might not mean a lie-in for every parent".

The extra hour arrives at 2am, while everyone is asleep. If the week of moves worked, your child wakes close to their usual time on the new clock. If it didn't, they wake an hour early by it. If you want the hour, take it on Saturday night by going to bed later yourself, because Sunday morning may still start early.

What if you only remember on Thursday?

Do three moves instead of four. Thursday at 7.15pm, Friday at 7.30pm, Saturday at 7.45pm, and Sunday's 7pm on the new clock makes the last 15 minutes on the night itself. Three moves of 15 before the change plus one on the Sunday still adds up to the hour.

Missed the week entirely? Make the same moves after the change instead. On Sunday, put them to bed at 6.15pm on the new clock, which feels like 7.15 to their body. Then go 15 minutes later every other night: 6.30, 6.45 and then 7pm. The mornings will be early for that week, so the blinds matter more.

What keeps the new bedtime steady?

The same routine, at the same time, with the same wake-up. The Sleep Charity's guidance on bedtime routines comes down to consistency: doing the same things in the same order at the same time each evening, and a fixed time to get up, at weekends too. Its clock-change advice also says children with good sleep routines tend to cope better with the change, because they know what to expect at the end of the day.

So keep the five minutes on the floor after the clocks have gone back. It was the one part of the week that never moved, and that's exactly what makes it useful in March, when the whole plan runs the other way.

If your child's sleep is still unsettled a few weeks on, or you're worried about it, talk to your health visitor or GP. According to the NHS, a health visitor can suggest other approaches, or an appointment at a children's sleep clinic where one exists locally.

Make the wind-down the part that never moves. The Freedom Flow mat is made for ages 3 to 8, with all 15 of its poses laser-engraved and numbered, at £34.99 with free UK delivery.

Frequently asked questions

Should you change bedtime before the clocks go back?

You don't have to, but it helps. The Sleep Charity's advice is to shift bedtime 10 to 15 minutes later every few nights in the week before, so your child's body clock is partly there by Sunday. If the week gets away from you, make the same small moves after the change instead, starting 45 minutes before the usual bedtime by the new clock.

How long does it take children to adjust to the clocks going back?

Neither the NHS nor The Sleep Charity gives a number of days for children. The Sleep Charity says children with good sleep routines tend to cope better with the change, because they know what to expect at the end of the day. Its advice on any new routine is to stick with it for at least two weeks before deciding it hasn't worked.

What about when the clocks go forward in March?

It runs the other way. The clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March, so bedtime needs to come earlier. The Sleep Charity's general advice for the spring change, written for everyone rather than children alone, is to move bedtime a little earlier, by 10 minutes or so, in the days before. Run the same seven evenings in reverse, and expect the lighter evenings to make bedtime a harder sell.

Do blackout blinds help when the clocks go back?

They can. The Sleep Charity points out that mornings are lighter after the clocks go back, and suggests blackout blinds or thicker curtains to keep the early light out. They matter most in the first week, while a body still on summer time is ready to wake an hour early by the new clock.

Sources

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