Clock change preparations for parents in Ireland and the UK

As the clocks are scheduled to go back on Sunday, October 25, parents in Ireland and the United Kingdom are preparing for the impact on children's sleep and daily routines.

In Ireland, sleep expert Andrea Grace suggests a ‘10-minute bedtime rule’ to help children adjust. This involves moving a child’s bedtime approximately 10 minutes later each night during the week preceding the change to allow body clocks to adapt gradually. Experts note that seasonal changes, such as shorter days and darker mornings, can further complicate sleep patterns by affecting melatonin levels.

In London, the childcare app Bubble has partnered with TrueStart Coffee to provide free coffee to parents on the morning of the clock change. The initiative follows research from Bubble indicating that 83% of parents find the clock change makes mornings more difficult, with 56% requiring extra caffeine to manage the day. The campaign also includes providing childcare credits to assist families during the upcoming October half-term.