Clocks Go Back: Fixing Your Kids' Sleep in 3 Days
The UK clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, and the easiest fix for children’s sleep is to start three nights early. Push bedtime and wake-up 15 minutes later on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By Sunday your child’s body clock has already done most of the moving, so the new 7pm feels like 7pm rather than 8pm. If you miss the window, the same 15-minute steps work in the week after, and a dark bedroom in the morning matters more than anything else.
That’s the whole plan. The rest of this post is what goes wrong, and what to do about it when you’re the only adult awake at 5:45am.
Why “an extra hour in bed” doesn’t apply to children
According to GOV.UK’s clock change page, the clocks go back 1 hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October. This year that’s 25 October. Adults get a lie-in. Children get an alarm clock that nobody set.
A child who usually wakes at 7am still wakes when their body says 7am. On Sunday morning that’s 6am on the kitchen clock. The Sleep Charity’s survival guide for the clock change puts it bluntly: parents of early birds “can find they’re up at 3 or 4 in the morning”. Bedtime has the same problem in reverse. At the new 7pm, a child’s body thinks it’s 8pm, so they’re overtired by the time you start teeth.
There’s also the light. The NHS mental health trust for Norfolk and Suffolk, in its clock change sleep tips, notes that with “evenings getting darker earlier”, there’s “less opportunity for outdoor activity and exposure to natural light”. Light is what sets the body clock, which is why the morning sunrise is your problem from Sunday on.
The three-night plan (Thursday to Saturday)
The Norfolk and Suffolk trust’s advice is to move bedtime “15 minutes later each day”, and to “adjust your wake-up time to give you the same amount of sleep”. Their example is for teenagers going to bed at 10pm. Here it is for a primary-age child with a 7pm bedtime:
| Night | Bedtime (clock time) | Wake-up next morning |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 21 Oct | 7:00pm, as normal | 7:00am |
| Thursday 22 Oct | 7:15pm | 7:15am |
| Friday 23 Oct | 7:30pm | 7:30am |
| Saturday 24 Oct | 7:45pm | clocks go back overnight |
| Sunday 25 Oct | 7:00pm (new time) | 7:00am |
On Saturday night they go to bed at 7:45pm. By Sunday morning the clocks have gone back and 7am on the clock is only 15 minutes “early” for them, not a full hour. Then Sunday’s 7pm bedtime is just their Saturday bedtime plus a bit.
Three things make the plan work:
- Move the wake-up, not just the bedtime. If they go to bed later but you still get them up at 7am on Friday, you’ve just made them tired. Keep the curtains closed and let them stay in bed until the new time.
- Move tea and the bath with it. If bedtime goes 15 minutes later, the rest of the evening moves too.
- Don’t let screens fill the extra 15 minutes. The Sleep Charity recommends turning screens off “at least an hour before bedtime”. Use the time for an extra story instead.
Shift younger children more gently. Betteroo’s clock-change guide for babies and toddlers suggests moving naps and bedtime “by about 10–15 minutes each day”, starting “three to five days before the time change”. So start a baby on the Tuesday rather than the Thursday.
Sunday morning: hold the line on wake-up
This is the bit that decides the next week. If your child appears at what is now 6am, the Sleep Charity’s advice is to “encourage them to remain in bed – half an hour is probably your limit!” That’s not giving up. It’s teaching their body that the day starts at the new time.
- Make the room dark. Mornings are lighter from Sunday, and the Sleep Charity says “black out blinds or dense curtains will help”. If you rent, my guide to blackout blinds without drilling covers the no-fixings options. A suction-cup blind like the Tommee Tippee portable blackout blind goes up in a minute.
- Agree a “quiet in bed” rule. Books, a soft toy, nothing with a screen. Older ones can understand “it’s not time to get up yet”.
- Then flood them with daylight. Once it’s time to get up, open every curtain. The Norfolk and Suffolk trust says natural light matters “even when it’s cloudy and dull outside”. Breakfast by the window counts.
If you missed the window
Most of us do. If it’s already Sunday, run the same steps the other way. Put them to bed 15 to 30 minutes before the new bedtime for a couple of nights, then 15 minutes later each night until you reach the normal time. Keep the morning dark and the daytime bright, and most children are back on track within the week.
Check your school’s half term dates. Many councils in England have half term from Monday 26 October, the day after the change, so you get a week of practice before the alarm matters. If your half term was the week before, school is on Monday morning. Run the three-night plan and lay everything out on Sunday night. My school morning routine has a checklist for that.
The single-parent bit
The clock change is harder when you’re the only grown-up, because there’s nobody else to take the 6am shift. Two things help.
Go to bed earlier yourself on Saturday and Sunday. You won’t get a lie-in, so that hour has to come from the evening. And keep the bedtime order exactly the same while the clock moves: same steps, same story, same goodnight. The Sleep Charity notes that “children with good sleep routines tend to cope better with the changes in time as they know what to expect”. If your routine needs work, my school-night bedtime routine is a good place to start.
FAQ
When do the clocks go back in 2026?
At 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, when they go back to 1am. GOV.UK lists it as the last Sunday in October, and the clocks go forward again on Sunday 28 March 2027.
How long does it take children to adjust to the clocks going back?
Usually a few days to a week. If you shift bedtime by 15 minutes a night before the change, most of the adjustment is done by Sunday. If you don’t, expect early mornings for most of the following week, especially in a light bedroom.
Should I keep my child up an hour later on Saturday so they sleep in?
Usually not. One very late night tends to give you an overtired child who still wakes early, and a grumpy Sunday. Small steps over three nights are kinder for everyone.
Does the clock change affect babies too?
Yes, and often more, because naps get pushed around as well. Start a little earlier, move feeds and naps in 10 to 15 minute steps, and keep safe sleep the same as always.
