Why am I waking up an hour early since the clocks changed?

Your body is still expecting to wake at its usual summer time. If you normally woke at 7am, your body now wakes you at what the clock shows as 6am. This is especially common after 50, when the body clock naturally shifts earlier.

Why do I feel sleepy so early in the evening in winter?

Darkness is the main signal for the brain to release melatonin, the hormone that prepares you for sleep. When it gets dark earlier, melatonin is released sooner, so you can feel drowsy hours before your usual bedtime.

How can I adjust to the clocks going back faster?

Get 20 to 30 minutes of daylight within an hour of waking, keep the same wake time every day, avoid going to bed too early, keep the early evening well lit then dim the lights before bed, avoid long naps and eat at your normal clock times.

Is it easier when the clocks go back or forward?

Most people find the clocks going back in autumn easier, because the body adapts more easily to a slightly longer day than a shorter one. The clocks going forward in spring, when an hour is lost, usually feels harder.

Woman in her 50s yawning on the sofa in the early evening, feeling tired since the clocks went back

Why Do I Feel So Tired Since the Clocks Went Back?

Q: Why do I feel so tired since the clocks went back?

Your body clock is still running on British Summer Time, so it feels an hour later than the clock says in the evening and wakes you an hour earlier in the morning. Darker afternoons also trigger melatonin sooner, making you feel sleepy earlier. Most people adjust within a few days to a week.

Q: How long does it take to adjust after the clocks go back?

Most people adjust within a few days to about a week. People whose sleep is already light or easily disrupted may take a little longer. Morning daylight and a consistent wake time help the body clock reset faster.

October 26, 2026 at 10:12 am

You feel tired since the clocks went back because your body clock is still running on British Summer Time. It now thinks bedtime is an hour later than the clock says and wakes you an hour earlier, while darker afternoons trigger sleep hormones sooner. Most people adjust within a few days to a week, and morning daylight is the fastest way to help.

On paper, it was a gift: an extra hour in bed. In reality, many people spend the following week feeling flat, yawning by mid-evening and waking before the alarm. If that sounds familiar, there’s nothing wrong with you. Your internal clock just hasn’t caught up yet.

How Can One Hour Make Me This Tired?

Your body runs on a roughly 24-hour internal clock, the circadian rhythm, which controls when you feel sleepy, when you feel alert and when hormones like melatonin and cortisol are released.

When the clocks go back, the world shifts by an hour overnight. Your body doesn’t. For the next few days, your internal timing and the time on the clock are out of step, a bit like a mild case of jet lag. Meals, bedtime, waking and daylight all arrive at the “wrong” moment, and the result is tiredness that feels out of proportion to a single hour.

Why Am I Waking Up an Hour Early?

If you used to wake naturally at 7am, your body is still expecting to wake at 7am summer time. Since the change, that’s 6am on the clock.

This is often the most noticeable effect for people over 50. With age, the body clock naturally shifts earlier, which is why early waking is already common. The clock change adds another hour on top, so a 5am or 5:30am wake-up becomes much more likely in the first week. If early waking is something you already struggle with, What to Do When You Wake Up Too Early covers it in more detail.

Why Do I Feel Sleepy So Early in the Evening?

Two things happen at once.

First, your body clock thinks it’s an hour later than it is, so at 9pm it feels like 10pm.

Second, it’s now dark by around 4:30 to 5pm. Darkness is the main signal your brain uses to start releasing melatonin, the hormone that prepares you for sleep. Earlier darkness means earlier melatonin, and that heavy, drowsy feeling arrives while the evening still has hours to go.

This is also when nodding off on the sofa becomes a real risk, which can make it harder to sleep once you get to bed. More on that in Why Can I Fall Asleep on the Sofa but Not in Bed?

Why Do I Feel Low on Energy During the Day?

Less daylight in the afternoon means less of the bright light signal that keeps you alert and supports a steady mood. Many people also spend these darker weeks indoors more, so their total light exposure drops sharply.

Add a few nights of disrupted sleep, and it’s easy to feel sluggish, unmotivated and foggy, even when you’re technically getting enough hours in bed.

How Long Does It Take to Adjust After the Clocks Go Back?

For most people, it takes a few days to about a week. Some people, especially those whose sleep is already light or easily disrupted, can take a little longer.

Going back in autumn is usually easier than going forward in spring, because the body finds it simpler to stretch its day than to shorten it. But “easier” doesn’t mean unnoticeable, particularly if you’re already sleeping lightly.

How Can I Adjust Faster?

Get outside in the morning. Mornings are lighter for now, so make the most of it. Twenty to thirty minutes of daylight within an hour of waking is the strongest signal you can give your body clock to reset.

Keep your wake time steady. Pick a time and stick to it every day, including the weekend. Your bedtime will settle around it. If it helps, see Should You Go to Bed When You’re Tired or at a Fixed Time?

Resist going to bed too early. If you give in to sleepiness at 8:30pm, you’ll almost certainly wake at 4:30am. Stay up until close to your usual bedtime, doing something calm and gently engaging.

Keep the evening bright, then dim. Use good lighting at home in the early evening so the brain doesn’t think it’s night at 5pm, then dim the lights in the hour before bed.

Avoid long naps. A short rest is fine, but long or late-afternoon naps weaken your drive to sleep at night.

Eat at your normal clock times. Regular mealtimes help anchor your body clock to the new schedule.

Move during the day. A walk, ideally outdoors, combines daylight and activity, two of the most effective ways to lift energy and deepen sleep.

Can Anything Help My Sleep While My Body Clock Catches Up?

While your body clock resets, nights are often lighter and more broken than usual. That’s when supporting your nervous system can make the transition feel smoother.

Vitalisys Sleep Patches release a botanical blend of lavender, hops, cedarwood and jasmine slowly through the skin across the night. They don’t reset your body clock. Daylight and routine do that. What they do is support the nervous system’s natural shift into rest, helping you settle and stay asleep while your rhythm realigns. They’re melatonin-free, and most people wake without the groggy feeling associated with sleeping pills.

Explore Vitalisys Sleep Patches

When Should I Speak to a GP?

If tiredness, low mood or poor sleep carry on well beyond the first couple of weeks, or if you notice a persistent drop in mood every year as the days get shorter, mention it to your GP. Seasonal changes in mood and energy are common and there are effective ways to manage them.

The Short Version

Since the clocks went back, your body is still living an hour ahead. That’s why you feel sleepy early, wake too soon and lack energy during the day. Get morning daylight, keep a steady wake time, stay up until your usual bedtime and avoid long naps. Within about a week, most people feel back to normal.