Talking sleep health with University of Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (10/27/2025) — As daylight saving time ends and we set our clocks back, many people look forward to an extra hour of sleep. The seasonal shift also serves as an important reminder of how important good sleep habits are for overall health.

Akinbolaji Akingbola, MD, with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview, explains how the time change affects our internal clock and offers tips to make the transition smoother.

Q: How does the end of daylight saving time affect our sleep patterns?
Dr. Akingbola: Switching to standard time is actually better for our sleep. Sunlight or bright light plays a very important role in the regulation of our circadian rhythm. With standard time, we have more morning sunlight and less evening sunlight. This change in sunlight should reinforce our natural circadian rhythms and homeostatic sleep drive. However, our bodies do adjust to daylight saving time, and the sudden change back to standard time can lead to some difficulties with falling asleep. 

Q: What are your tips for adjusting to the time change?
Dr. Akingbola: Changing from daylight saving time to standard time should be an easier adjustment to make than the other way around. Unfortunately, while on daylight saving time, we tend to stay up later than our bodies' natural inclination due to the prolonged evening light exposure, especially in the summer months. Heading into the colder winter months, it’s important to get adequate amounts of daylight exposure in the morning and afternoon. If we are unable to obtain adequate amounts of ambient sunlight throughout the day, then bright light therapy in the morning to supplement our light exposure could be very helpful. 

Q: How important is a consistent sleep routine for overall health?
Dr. Akingbola: A consistent sleep and wake routine is very important and can help improve sleep quality. Obtaining a sufficient amount of high-quality sleep is very important for our overall health and can impact neurologic, psychiatric, cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic conditions.

I would begin by setting and keeping a consistent wake-up time. As much as possible, this should include keeping the same wake-up time on the weekend to help reinforce the same schedule seven days a week. From the moment we wake up, our circadian rhythm and homeostatic sleep drive are changing to promote alertness throughout the day and eventually sleep at night. By establishing a consistent wake-up time, we can help these processes reinforce a natural and consistent bedtime.

Q: What general advice do you have for getting restful sleep throughout the year? 
Dr. Akingbola: In addition to keeping a consistent wake up time, there are some other practices in the evening that can help promote good sleep. This includes limiting bright lights and screens in the hours preceding bedtime or lowering the temperature in the home prior to bedtime. Making these changes consistently could help reinforce the natural bedtime. If you are going through a stressful time or if you find that your mind races once you get into bed, it may be helpful to set some time aside prior to getting into bed to reflect or journal on the things that may be on your mind and keep you up at night.

Q: How does your research at the University of Minnesota impact clinical care?
Dr. Akingbola: The University of Minnesota is involved in a large multicenter national research via the North American Prodromal Synucleinopathy Consortium on the link between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and the group of neurological conditions known as synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease. This work has the potential to be a landmark study and pivotal in our understanding of how our sleep may be related to the onset, progression, diagnosis and management of Parkinson's and related diseases. The Consortium is supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Institute on Aging. 

Akinbolaji Akingbola, MD, MS, is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a sleep medicine physician at M Health Fairview. His research interests include cardiopulmonary physiology and sleep-related breathing disorders, sleep and athletic performance and the intersection of sleep medicine and hospital medicine.

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