Clocks going back: how to keep your sleep steady this October

On Sunday 25 October 2026, the UK clocks go back an hour. At 2am, it becomes 1am again, bringing British Summer Time to an end. There’s an extra hour available overnight, though whether you spend it asleep is another matter. GOV.UK

Perhaps you’re looking forward to a longer Sunday morning. Perhaps you’re wondering whether you’ll end up awake before the rest of the house. Either way, it helps to understand what changes—and what you can reasonably do about it.

Your phone can update its clock immediately. Your sleep follows a more complicated timetable. Light, darkness and your usual daily habits all help your body recognise when to feel awake and when to become sleepy. Moving the time on a screen doesn’t instantly move those signals with it. NHLBI, NIH

There’s no need to turn the weekend into a sleep project. A few practical choices can give the following week a more familiar shape.

What the clock change means for your mornings

One detail often gets lost in the talk about dark mornings: the autumn clock change initially makes mornings lighter at the same clock time. Sunset moves earlier too. The shorter days of late autumn and winter are a separate seasonal change; putting the clocks back shifts an hour of daylight towards the morning. House of Commons Library

That distinction matters when you’re planning your routine. You don’t need to assume Sunday will suddenly be harder to wake up to. Start with the time you actually need to get out of bed, whether that’s for work, breakfast with the children or walking the dog.

The NHS recommends a consistent getting-up time and going to bed when you feel sleepy. After the change, use the new local time for your regular morning alarm. If you have a poor night, try to avoid letting the next morning drift much later in response. NHS

Before Saturday night, check your bedside clock as well as your phone. It’s a small job, but discovering that two alarms disagree is an unnecessarily confusing start to Sunday.

Give your evenings a little breathing room

An earlier sunset can make the evening feel well under way before you’ve even finished work. That doesn’t mean you need to go straight into bedtime mode.

Keep the things that make your evening enjoyable. Then leave yourself a quieter stretch before bed, with enough time to put work away and stop carrying tomorrow’s jobs around in your head. Reading a few pages or writing down what you need to do in the morning can be easier to maintain than a long routine with several steps.

The NHS suggests relaxing activities before bed and putting screens aside for the final hour. It also advises against trying to force sleep: if you’re lying awake and becoming frustrated, get up for something quiet and return when you feel sleepy. NHS

Consider the lighting around you, too. Bright artificial light late in the evening can interfere with the signals that prepare your body for sleep. Once you’re winding down, a softer lamp may suit the moment better than every overhead light being on. NHLBI, NIH

Choose bedroom changes that solve a real problem

Take a moment to notice your bedroom with the lights off. Is there a streetlight coming around the curtain? Does a charging device glow beside your pillow? Is light from the landing falling across the bed?

Closing a gap in the curtains or moving an unnecessary light source may be all that’s needed. If light is still bothering you, the NHS includes an eye mask among its suggestions for a darker bedroom. NHS

When choosing a mask, think about how you actually sleep. Consider whether the fit feels comfortable against the pillow, whether the strap stays in place and whether light enters around your nose. Those practical details are useful questions to ask before buying.

You can explore OruSleep’s range for blocking bedtime distractions if unwanted light or noise is something you want to address. 

A sunrise alarm serves a different purpose: it adds light as your chosen waking time approaches. OruSleep’s model offers a gradual light sequence over 10, 20 or 30 minutes, with sound options alongside it. You can view the Sunrise Alarm Clock here. OruSleep

If you wear a light-blocking mask through the morning, it will also block the alarm’s light. Bear that in mind when choosing your setup, and use an audible alarm when you need to wake at a particular time.

For this weekend, keep the changes manageable. Check the clock, give yourself time to settle in the evening and keep a realistic morning routine. You can decide what else needs adjusting once you’ve lived with the new time for a few days.

If difficulty sleeping has continued for months, changing your habits hasn’t helped, or tiredness is making daily life hard to manage, speak to your GP. NHS