March 14, 2010, marks the final move into the spring season with an official national time change.  It may not seem like a big deal to forward your clock an hour, but there is no denying the effect that daylight saving time has on your daily schedule. So before you lose sleep or find yourself late for work, here are some tips for making a graceful adjustment to the time change for spring 2010.

Modify your schedule the days before

In the days leading up to the time change, begin to readjust your sleeping and eating schedule to one hour earlier. Your brain knows that the time on the clock has changed, but your body’s internal clock does not. By training yourself days before, you will give your internal body clock a head start.

Set your clock late afternoon or early evening on Saturday

Even though daylight saving time officially changes at 2:00am on Sunday morning, it is a wise idea to acclimate yourself to the time change while you are still awake on Saturday. Late afternoon or early evening is ideal (as long as you have no time sensitive engagements), because before you are ready to go to bed you will already be operating one hour in advance. Getting an hour more of sleep will help you get up an hour earlier and not be late for church or work.

Take it easy the day of the time change

Time changes affect your sleep and energy levels so keep a light schedule and do not exert yourself too much on the Sunday after the time change. During the first few weeks of the time change, try to resist the urge to take long naps late in the day. It also helps to expose yourself to light during the day and keep the shades drawn at night to get your body into the natural Arcadian rhythm cycle.

Time Change Facts

• The idea of daylight saving time was conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784.

• The plan was formally adopted in the U.S. on March 19, 1918 in “’An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States.”

• The phrase “daylight saving time” is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, but it is not politically desirable.

• On Halloween, children’s pedestrian deaths are four times higher than on any other night of the year. In order to provide trick-or-treaters more light and therefore more safety from traffic accidents, a law to extend DST to the first Sunday in November took effect in 2007.

• More light in the evening is favorable for a low crime rate. During DST, violent crime goes down 10 to 13 percent.

April Lentini writes for Apartment Guide in Philadelphia