The clocks go back on Sunday. Here is how to actually keep the extra hour

At 2am on Sunday 25 October the clocks go back to 1am. On paper that is an hour more in bed. Most adults do not get it, and many sleep less that week, not more.

What the week after looks like

Dr Yvonne Harrison of Liverpool John Moores University reviewed the research on clock changes for the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews in 2013. She found little evidence of extra sleep on the night itself. What the studies did show was five days of earlier waking afterwards, which adds up to a net loss across the week. Harvard Health's summary of her review says it can take up to a week to settle, with more trouble falling asleep and more waking in the night along the way.

The reason is that your body is still on summer time. When the clock says 6am on Monday, your body thinks it is 7.

According to the same summary, early risers and short sleepers, meaning anyone who usually gets less than seven and a half hours, have the hardest time adjusting.

Start on Thursday

Dr Sophie Bostock, a sleep scientist writing for Lumie, suggests moving bedtime, meals and any naps later in three steps before the change. If you normally go to bed at 11:

• Thursday 22 October: 11:15
• Friday 23 October: 11:30
• Saturday 24 October: 11:45
• Sunday 25 October: 11:00 on the new time

She also suggests moving your wake-up time by the same amount, if work allows. If it does not, move the evening anyway. And if you only get round to it on Friday, a 20 minute delay on Friday, Saturday or both still helps.

Keep the mornings dark

Light sets the body clock. Researchers at King's College London describe evening light as pushing it later and morning light as pulling it earlier. After Sunday the sun comes up an hour earlier by the clock, and that early light encourages the early waking you are trying to avoid.

So keep the bedroom dark until your alarm goes off. A blackout blind does it, or curtains that close properly at the edges. Get your daylight later instead: a walk at lunchtime, or outside in the afternoon before it gets dark.

When you feel sleepy at half nine

Bostock warns that you may feel sleepy earlier in the evening as well as waking earlier. Going to bed at 9:30 because it feels like 10:30 keeps you on the old time. Hold out until your usual bedtime on the new clock, and keep getting up at the same time every day, weekend included.

If the week leaves you short, a short afternoon nap is fine. The Sleep Foundation suggests 20 minutes or less, so you do not wake up groggy.

If you have small children

The extra hour was never yours. A toddler who wakes at 6:30 will be up at 5:30 on Sunday, and their bedtime needs its own plan. That piece also covers what to do if you are starting late.

Tonight

Work out your Thursday bedtime and set Friday's alarm 15 minutes later. Then check that the bedroom curtains actually keep the light out.