Menu
MattressFirm Logo
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Lifestyle & Life Moments

4 Things to do With Your Extra Hour of Sleep

By The Mattress Firm Sleep Experts
November 1, 2019
Woman meditating in the lotus position closeup at outdoor swimmi
Woman meditating in the lotus position closeup at outdoor swimming pool with copy space

It's that time again! When daylight saving rolls around, sleepers everywhere are faced with the biannual ritual of changing clocks. Around the autumn season, it's customary to fall back and add an extra hour of time to our days. With this change, we're faced with a challenge: What's the best way to spend the extra free time?

Don't fret! Here are a few ways to spend your extra hour:

How to Spend Your Extra Hour

  1. Get Smart? Knowledge is power, so use your additional time to pick up a book! There are health benefits to making space in your schedule for reading. Getting your head in a book can help boost creativity and relieve stress. If you're not fond of novels, you can use your time to stay informed on current events. Pick up a newspaper or tune into your local news channel to stay up to speed on world happenings.
  2. Spruce Up Your Space: Clean space = happy place. Now that daylight saving is ending, use your free time to maintain and spruce up every room in your home. Freeing your environment of dust, dirt and grime can reduce stress and help you breathe a little easier. Our advice? Start with your bedroom! Cleaning your bed is easy and can give a much-needed refresh of your sleep space, especially if you plan to spend your extra hour in bed.
  3. Cheers to your Health!: With a busy schedule, it can be hard to find time to focus on wellness. Self-care is important, so we encourage you to devote time to your health and well-being. Apps like Headspace and MyFitnessPal can help you make the most of your mornings. Whether you're a night owl or an early bird, the added time is perfect for kicking off a workout regimen or take a moment to center yourself. Or, if you're a fan of food, you can save money and even more time by meal-prepping and making food for the week in advance. How's that for adding fitness time into your schedule?
  4. Grab Daylight Sleep Savings: The best way to use that extra hour? Rest. With Daylight Saving time ending, we recommend falling back…to sleep. Of course, if you've been struggling to snooze, we have a sleep solution for you. With thousands of Mattress Firm stores nationwide, you're just minutes away from a good night's sleep.

Does the extra hour add stress to your day? In the U.S.; Hawaii and Arizona are the only states that don't observe daylight saving time. So, if you're not a fan of springing forward and falling back, there's still time to move!

More:

Sleep and Health, 
Daylight Saving

You Might Also Like

A white digital flip clock shows six o'clock on a brown wooden cabinet next to a fresh eucalyptus plant in the living room, with sunbeam shining through the window on a fresh beautiful morning. A brand new day, fresh start, fresh energy, new opportunities.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Why You Should Keep Your Bedtime and Wake-Up Time the Same Each DayGood, consistent sleep has a host of benefits: Boosted immunity, reduced stress, easier weight control, better focus and more. But, if it’s typical for you to skimp on sleep all week and then try to “catch up” over the weekend, the bad news is you might not be getting these benefits. Even worse is that playing catch-up with sleep doesn’t really work that way.
Read More
A man and a woman laying together on a bed with their arms around each other.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
How to Sleep Like Your Relationship Depends on ItWe all know sleep is essential for good health. But what happens if we can’t get into a groove with our bed partners? Or if we’re too tired to be good-tempered due to nighttime caregiving or changes in our sleep habits caused by aging? Not only can sleep deprivation trigger an avalanche of health concerns, but it can also negatively impact the emotional and physical aspects of our romantic relationships.
Read More
Group portrait of dogs
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Happy International Dog Day!August 26 is International Dog Day. But for some of us, every day is dog day. After all, our four-legged friends are so much more than just pets: Studies have shown that companion animals can improve our physical activity levels, improve our mental health, lessen anxiety, lower blood pressure and decrease feelings of loneliness or isolation.
Read More
Two people holding hands, with feathers falling around their face.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Pillow Fights: The Crazy History (and Future), From Innocent Pastime to Professional Sporting EventWhile most sleep psychologists will designate the bedroom as a sanctuary, exclusive to sleep and sex, we can’t help but think there’s a third use for it: pillow fighting.
Read More
A business woman asleep in a comfy chair. Her phone next to her and a planner on her lap.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Why a Nap May Be Your Secret to a More Productive WorkdayNapping often gets the reputation of being only for babies and toddlers. After all, once you get old enough, life can feel too busy to slow down midday for a restful pause. Let’s face it: Many of us are lucky to even get a full night’s rest.
Read More
A neatly made bed with white sheets. Breakfast is arranged beautifully on a tray.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Why You Should Avoid Eating in Bed (With 1 Exception)After a long day, climbing into bed is such a comfort. You’ve probably heard the advice to use your bed only for sleep and sex, but in recent years, all the lines about what our homes and bedrooms are for have blurred. So it’s understandable if your bed has overtaken your couch as your entertainment center and has even replaced your dinner table as a place to chill with a snack or your takeout.
Read More
A black woman sleeping in bed hugging her pillow to her face.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
What Your Hormones Do While You’re Sleeping While it may seem like sleep just happens (or doesn’t happen) at the end of each long day, the sleep you get is actually a result of specific biological processes. And though it can seem like physical exertion equals deep sleep, your sleep is more accurately attributed to hormonal changes that ebb and flow due to your circadian rhythms. While you sleep, certain hormones kick into gear, repairing and rebuilding, and preparing you for the coming day.
Read More
Men and his dog napping in new living room during the moving in process.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Can Sleeping on the Floor Be Good for You? Most of us would prefer to crash on a comfortable, supportive mattress than have to spend the night sleeping on the floor or a couch.
Read More
Grandmother and granddaughter in summer enjoy harvesting vegetables from home organic vegetable garden.
Lifestyle & Life Moments
Why Gardening May Help You Sleep BetterThe sheer number of juicy tomatoes you can grow in a backyard garden is reason enough to pick up a trowel. But the benefits of gardening extend far beyond your harvest — believe it or not, it can work wonders for your sleep as well.
Read More