Daylight saving time sleep plan: shift your bedtime before the clocks change

The sleep calculator turns your new alarm into bedtimes that end on a full sleep cycle.

Plan your four nights

The table below gives the change dates for the US, the UK, the EU, Canada and south-east Australia for 2026 to 2028, worked out from each country's own rule.

Pick where you live, your usual bedtime and your usual alarm. The plan moves them by 15 minutes a night, the step the NSW Government suggests, starting on the Wednesday before the change. By Saturday night your times have moved the full 1-hour change, and on Sunday you are back on your usual times on the new clock. If your alarm cannot move because work or the school run starts at a fixed time, choose “Bedtime only”: the bedtime still moves and the alarm stays put.

The example in the planner: with a usual bedtime of 10:30 PM and an alarm at 6:30 AM, the nights before the clocks go back run 10:45 PM, 11:00 PM, 11:15 PM, 11:30 PM to bed, and the alarm moves with them until the change night, when it rings at 6:30 AM on the new clock.

Keeping the alarm instead: the same bedtimes, with the alarm at 6:30 AM every morning. Before the clocks go back, that means up to 45 min less sleep than usual on the last night before the change; before they go forward, a little more. On a fixed-start week this variant trades some sleep for a steady morning.

Moving your alarm 15 minutes a night? Change it in your Clock app each evening. The Lull app reads your phone's next alarm, so its sound stops a minute before the new time.

Clock-change dates, 2026 to 2028

Each date below is worked out from the rule the country publishes, not copied from a calendar: the US rule from NIST, the UK rule from GOV.UK, the EU rule from Directive 2000/84/EC, Canada's from Ontario's Time Act and south-east Australia's from Business Victoria. A check in our build compares every date with the time zone database built into browsers.

Clock-change dates (all Sundays), worked out from each rule

Swipe the table sideways for 2027 and 2028.

• United States: forward on the second Sunday in March, 2:00 AM local time; back on the first Sunday in November, 2:00 AM local time.
• Canada (most provinces): forward on the second Sunday in March, 2:00 AM local time; back on the first Sunday in November, 2:00 AM local time.
• United Kingdom: forward on the last Sunday in March, 1:00 AM local time; back on the last Sunday in October, 2:00 AM local time.
• European Union: forward on the last Sunday in March, 1:00 AM GMT; back on the last Sunday in October, 1:00 AM GMT.
• Australia (south-east): forward on the first Sunday in October, 2:00 AM local time; back on the first Sunday in April, 3:00 AM local time.

As of October 2026, under the rules in force. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July 2026; the Senate would also have to pass it before US clocks stop changing. If a rule changes, we update the table and log it in the changelog.

Why small steps, and why start midweek

The clock change itself takes a second, but your body clock moves slowly. The AASM says that moving into or out of daylight saving time disturbs sleep for about 5 to 7 days, and that “Graduated adjustment of sleep and wake times beginning 2-3 days before DST can also help with this transition.” Starting on Wednesday puts the first step 3 nights before the change night, the top of the AASM's 2 to 3 days.

The NSW Government suggests moving bedtime 15 minutes each night before the change “to help your body transition smoothly”, and it is an easy step to set on an alarm. If you can, move the alarm too: the AASM's Sleep Education site advises getting up at the same time every day, so a wake time that settles onto the new clock early is the anchor for the week after.

When the clocks go back

In autumn the clock moves an hour earlier, so on Sunday evening your usual bedtime arrives an hour later by your body clock than it did on Saturday. People who keep their usual times often find themselves sleepy early in the evening and awake before the alarm for the first week. Moving later in steps beforehand means the new clock feels normal sooner. The autumn plan moves your times later; the planner above shows it for a 10:30 PM bedtime.

Young children and the early-morning hour

For many parents the autumn change shows up at dawn: a child who wakes at 6:30 AM on the old clock wakes at 5:30 AM on the new one until their body clock catches up. The same small steps work for a child's bedtime. For a 7:30 PM bedtime, put them to bed at 7:45 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:15 PM, 8:30 PM on the four nights before the change, and keep the room dark in the early morning. If you are unsure about your child's sleep, ask their doctor; for how much sleep a child needs at each age, see sleep need by age.

Morning light also shifts with the clock: after the change it is lighter at your usual alarm for a few weeks, then the mornings darken again as winter comes. Our dark winter mornings plan covers that stretch, with sunrise for eight cities against your alarm.

When the clocks go forward

In spring, you lose the hour. On Sunday night your usual bedtime comes an hour sooner by your body clock, and the CDC Yellow Book notes that “for most people, it is easier to delay than advance the circadian rhythm”, which makes the spring change the harder of the two. The spring plan moves earlier: for the same usual times, bed at 10:15 PM, 10:00 PM, 9:45 PM, 9:30 PM from Wednesday to Saturday, with the alarm moving 15 minutes earlier each morning to 5:45 AM on Saturday and back to 6:30 AM on the new clock on Sunday. Bright light in the morning helps here: the Yellow Book says morning light after the body clock's low point moves the clock earlier. The AASM advises adults to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night before and after each change.

Places that do not change their clocks

• United States: NIST says “DST is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe DST).”
• Canada: provinces set their own clocks. British Columbia and Alberta both made the spring 2026 change their last, so most of British Columbia and all of Alberta keep their clocks on November 1, 2026. Saskatchewan stays on Central Standard Time all year. The Canada row follows Ontario's Time Act; for any other province or territory, check its government's page.
• Australia: the NSW Government lists New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT as the states that observe daylight saving, and says Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not.
• Europe: the EU rule covers every member state; the UK keeps the same dates under its own law. The planner gives Central European Time; Ireland and Portugal change at the same moment, an hour earlier on their clocks.

The week after the change

Even with the steps, expect a few unsettled nights: the AASM's 5 to 7 days is a typical span. Keep the alarm at the same time each morning, get outdoor light early in the day, and keep the evening dim. The AASM advises particular caution for at least a week after a change with anything that needs full alertness, such as driving. If you need a bedtime that ends on a full sleep cycle for your new alarm, the sleep calculator works it out.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. NIST — Daylight Saving Time Rules2026 · read on 2026-10-16
2. GOV.UK — When do the clocks change?2026 · read on 2026-10-16
3. European Union (EUR-Lex) — Directive 2000/84/EC on summer-time arrangements2001 · read on 2026-10-16
4. Government of Ontario — Time Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. T.91990 · read on 2026-10-16
5. Business Victoria (Victorian Government) — Daylight saving2026 · read on 2026-10-16
6. NSW Government — Daylight saving in NSW2026 · read on 2026-10-16
7. American Academy of Sleep Medicine — Daylight Saving Time Health Advisory2016 · read on 2026-10-16
8. American Academy of Sleep Medicine (Sleep Education) — Healthy Sleep Habits2026 · read on 2026-10-23
9. CDC Yellow Book — Jet Lag Disorder (2026 edition)2025 · read on 2026-10-05
10. Government of British Columbia — 'Spring forward' on March 8 will be the last time change2026 · read on 2026-10-16
11. Government of Alberta — Alberta's new time system (ABT)2026 · read on 2026-10-16
12. Government of Saskatchewan — Saskatchewan Time System2026 · read on 2026-10-16
13. U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk — Roll Call 238, H.R. 139, Sunshine Protection Act2026 · read on 2026-10-16