8 Ways To Cope With Daylight Saving Time

March 13 is Daylight Saving Time, and there's approximately a million reasons why that is terrible, horrible news. Springing forward, as the popular mnemonic describes, means we lose an hour of sleep on Sunday, and that our alarms will likely be going off before the sun rises until after Halloween. But there are a few tricks that will help you cope with Daylight Saving Time, even if it does seem a little silly in 2016.

Daylight Saving Time consistently messes up my internal clock for days in the spring and the fall. You would think after doing this time change thing 53 times in my life, it would get a little easier, but it doesn't. I spend the week after the time change with absolutely no idea what time it is, struggling to decide whether I'm hungry too early or not soon enough, and waking up like The Mummy from his centuries long slumber — ya know, displeased. At least in the fall, we got an extra hour of Halloween night, but that makes this season's time change seem all the more heinous.

So, how can you minimize the negative impact of losing that precious hour of sleep and put yourself on track for a happy and productive spring? Check out these surprisingly simple steps.

1. Summer Is Coming, So Keep That In Mind

The weather is going to get nicer, and the days will be long. Road trips and cookouts are on your horizon, so try to keep that in mind as you trade an hour of sleep for the chance to leave work while the sun is still out.

2. Spring Forward On Friday Night Instead

It seems so simple when you think about it. Springing forward on Friday will give you the whole weekend to get your internal clock ready for the early start on Monday morning. And the stakes for waking up on the weekends are so much lower.

3. Get Up Early On Saturday And Go Outside

Don't sleep in too late on Saturday morning, or springing forward early won't make any difference. Get up early and go for a hike. Exposing your body to the sun early in the day will help trick your internal clock into accepting the earlier mornings with less protest.

4. Pay Attention To Dinner Time

It might seem early, but eating right before bed will disrupt your sleep cycle on top of the confusion of Daylight Saving-induced insomnia, so eat a little earlier than you normally would.

5. Plan A Ridiculously Relaxing Sunday Evening

Rent a movie and pop some popcorn at home, or watch your favorite show over a glass of wine. However you unwind before another work week, make sure you try all of your best tricks for relaxing, because you'll need to be asleep an hour earlier than normal.

6. Take Solace In Knowing Your Pets Won’t Know About The Time Change

When the clocks rolled back in the fall, my dogs didn't get the memo, and woke me up at obscene o'clock, according to the new time, to ask for breakfast, because dogs don't care about what time your iPhone says it is. This time, the dogs will actually sleep a little later, even though we don't get the same luxury.

7. Make Sure You're Stocked Up On Coffee

If the time change still has your body confused on Monday morning, you're going to want to make sure that you're stocked up on your preferred caffeine delivery system.

8. Eat Breakfast On Monday

It's the most important meal of the day, and you're going to need all the extra energy you can muster to get you through the early morning.

Images: Westend61/Westend61/Getty Images; Giphy (4)