Different seasons affect your sleep in different ways as we explain in our post about the science of seasonal sleep. Summer brings hot nights and longer days, winter comes with chills and reduced light exposure and fall means another disruption as daylight savings time comes to an end. 

As spring comes around, expect it to affect your sleep in various ways, both good and bad. Anticipating these effects can help you cope with the worst ones. 

1. Warmer and Milder Weather 

The best thing about spring is the warmer weather. By the time March rolls around, I personally can’t wait to be done with the cold and depressing winter day. 

The warming weather has a lot of benefits for your sleep and overall health. 

• Winter blues (also called seasonal affective disorder or SAD) start fading away. SAD can be brutal on sleep, which in turn causes other physical and mental health problems. As winter blues recede, you should see your mental health and sleep quality improve.  
• Warmer weather means you can now spend more time outside. Getting out of the house and receiving more exposure to sunlight makes you more alert and increases melatonin production at night, helping you sleep better and deeper. 
• The warmer weather also makes most people more active during the day. It’s easier to go for a run or cycling, and you find that you are in the mood for more physical activities. More exercise means better sleep. 
• Our social lives also improve during spring since we can hang out more with friends and family, indoors or outdoors. Spending time with others is a great way to boost your moods and improve your sleep. 

2. Days Get Longer 

It can be hard to notice at first, but days get longer in the spring. The sun starts rising earlier starting in March. Sunset also happens later. 

The main effect of this is increased exposure to sunlight. This gives people the opportunity to work longer and spend more time outside. 

While the longer days can be good for your sleep, they also have several downsides. 

• The earlier sunrise can rouse you before you’ve gotten enough sleep. Depending on which direction your bedroom faces, you may need to use blackout curtains to get a proper full night’s sleep. 
• The longer days can encourage habits that are detrimental to sleep like drinking more alcohol in the evening or exercising intensively too close to bedtime.    
• It can take time to adjust to a later sunset especially if you are used to an early bedtime. It’s hard to wind down for the evening when it’s still light outside. 

3. The Start of Daylight Savings

To take advantage of the longer days, we push the clock forward by an hour, what we call daylight savings time or DST. 

DST can have a bigger impact on your sleep than the longer spring days. That’s because it throws off your internal circadian clock. A disruption in circadian rhythm leads to a disruption in sleep. 

When clocks are pushed forward, we lose an hour of sleep in the morning and gain an hour of daylight in the evening. Before you are able to adjust to the new clock, you might experience sleep deprivation. This in turn causes daytime sleepiness, fatigue and increased stress. 

It can take several days or weeks to fully adjust. The best way to tackle DST-related sleep problems is to adjust your bedtime a few days to DST. Pull back your bedtime 15 minutes earlier each couple of days. By the time DST is here, you should be used to sleeping and waking up an hour earlier. 

4. Allergen Season Begins

One of the biggest negative effects of spring on sleep and health is allergens. The warming weather encourages flowers to bloom. As pollen fills the air, people who are sensitive to it suffer more allergy symptoms which can cause or worsen insomnia. 

Keeping your windows closed during the day, using a HEPA air purifier and wearing a mask when you go outside can help reduce allergies. The Aplu mask by Hercleon is an excellent choice for those with allergies. It’s comfortable to wear for extended periods, it doesn't cause mask acne and it blocks out pollen plus lots of other bad stuff like airborne microbes. 

5. Mold Springs Back to Life

Dormant during the winter cold, the warmer temperatures of spring and the increasing humidity bring mold back to life. 

Watch out for mold growing inside your home, particularly in humid or damp areas like the bathroom and basement. Mold spores can cause allergy-like symptoms that disrupt your sleep. 

Improving indoor ventilation, repairing leaks and using a dehumidifier can help reduce mold growth inside your home.