Well, last week, we did it again. Tinkered with time, moved our clocks forward a little earlier and fooled ourselves into thinking we can squeeze just a little more out of life by building in as much daylight as possible.

If you want to know what price we’re all paying for this, consider that we’re a week late with this post! For signs of similar disruption, check with your children at home or in school. The time change is playing havoc with their circadian rhythms, the internal clocks that regulate their 24-hour sleep and wakefulness patterns, their ability to attend, to rejuvenate, to generate and regenerate in healthy developmental ways.

Children immediately have more trouble getting to sleep, partly due to the extended daylight, but also because they’re still operating on standard time. Children can make a seasonal adjustment only very slowly, if at all, over the months of daylight savings. Now that the days of these months are extended, so will be the issues for many children.

Besides sleeping difficulties, children often have more behavioral and learning difficulties at the end and beginning of traditional school calendars. Symptoms you can expect to see include crankiness, inattention, confusion, and certainly restlessness, as the light patterns of summer flood through classroom windows earlier in March of the school year—just in time for the beginning of standardized test season.

In the face of this mind bending, we would do well to respond with increased body bending, or exercise and movement breaks for our children. As recently reported on National Public Radio and in various print media, researchers are finding that even minimal breaks in classrooms get kids ready to learn. John Ratey, a psychiatrist at Harvard, noted that when children move, “you’re seeing an increase in neurotransmitters … dopamine and serotonin, norepinephrine. These are hormones that are related to mood regulation, to attention. And in general, they help the brain be in a better state of equilibrium.” (NPR 3/8/09 “Deskercise: Staying Jazzed and Focused At School” by Allison Aubrey)

“A better state of equilibrium” is a wonderful target in the coming weeks as we navigate the new light of daylight “savings.”