When we turn our clocks back each fall, it might seem like a simple one-hour adjustment. But for anyone in recovery from substance use disorders, this seasonal shift can create unexpected challenges that ripple through your sleep, mood, and daily routine, all critical factors in maintaining sobriety.

Let’s explore why this annual time change matters for your recovery, what warning signs to watch for, and practical steps you can take to protect your progress during this vulnerable period.

Why Does a One-Hour Change Matter So Much?

Your body runs on an internal clock called your circadian rhythm, which regulates everything from when you feel sleepy to how your brain processes rewards and manages stress. When Daylight Saving Time ends, you’re not just changing what time your alarm goes off, you’re asking your entire biological system to adjust.

During that first week after the time change, many people experience fragmented sleep, even though we technically “gain” an hour. You might find yourself lying awake at your new bedtime or struggling to wake up in the morning despite getting enough hours in bed. This disruption affects two key chemicals in your brain: melatonin, which helps you sleep, and serotonin, which influences your mood and impulse control.

For someone in recovery, these disruptions aren’t just inconvenient, they can directly impact the brain systems that help you resist cravings and make healthy decisions. Sleep deprivation weakens the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for self-control and planning. When you’re running on poor sleep, cravings feel more intense, frustrations seem harder to manage, and the coping strategies you’ve worked so hard to develop become more difficult to access.

The Perfect Storm: Multiple Triggers at Once

The end of Daylight Saving Time doesn’t happen in isolation. It arrives alongside several other challenges that can compound your risk:

Disrupted routines: That recovery meeting that used to align perfectly with your schedule might now feel awkwardly timed. Your morning workout routine might suddenly happen in the dark. These small disruptions remove the reliable anchors that help structure your day.

Darker evenings: Suddenly, it’s getting dark by 5 or 6 PM. This dramatic reduction in natural light exposure can trigger or worsen seasonal depression, leaving you feeling unmotivated and withdrawn exactly when you need connection and engagement most.

Holiday season stress: The time change marks the beginning of the holiday season, which brings its own pressures: family gatherings that may involve alcohol, financial stress from gift-giving expectations, and memories of past substance use during celebrations.

Mood changes: The combination of sleep disruption, reduced sunlight, and seasonal stress creates a vulnerability to depression and anxiety. When your mood drops, the temptation to self-medicate with substances can intensify.

The Dual Diagnosis Challenge

If you’re managing both a mental health condition and addiction recovery, the stakes are even higher during this seasonal transition. Conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders are highly sensitive to changes in sleep and light exposure.

Seasonal Affective Disorder affects some people specifically during the fall and winter months. If you notice feelings of sadness, low energy, social withdrawal, or loss of interest in activities you normally enjoy, these could be signs that the seasonal change is affecting your mental health. Unfortunately, these are also the feelings that might tempt you to use substances for relief.

This is why integrated treatment care that addresses both your mental health and substance use together becomes especially important during seasonal transitions. When these conditions are treated separately, one can easily destabilize the other.

What You Can Do: Practical Steps to Protect Your Recovery

The good news is that you don’t have to be at the mercy of the calendar. Here are evidence-based strategies that can help you navigate this challenging time:

Prioritize Your Sleep Schedule

Consistency is your best friend. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps reset your internal clock faster than if you let your schedule drift.

In the days leading up to and following the time change, consider adjusting gradually. Shift your bedtime and wake time by just 10 to 15 minutes every few days rather than making an abrupt one-hour jump.

Create a wind-down routine for the hour or so before bed. This might include dimming lights, avoiding screens (the blue light interferes with melatonin production), reading something calming, or practicing relaxation techniques. Skip the caffeine after mid-afternoon, and if you’re tempted to use alcohol to help you sleep, remember that while it might make you drowsy initially, it actually disrupts your sleep quality and makes everything worse.

Get Strategic About Light Exposure

Light is one of the most powerful tools you have to reset your circadian rhythm. Within an hour of waking up, try to get 20 to 30 minutes of bright light exposure. If it’s a sunny morning, step outside, even if it’s cold. Take your coffee on the porch, walk around the block, or just stand by a sunny window.

If you live somewhere with limited winter sunlight, a light therapy box (10,000 lux) can be a game-changer. Use it in the morning while you eat breakfast or check your phone. This simple practice can significantly improve your mood and help your body adjust to the new schedule.

On the flip side, as evening approaches, start dimming your environment. Avoid bright overhead lights in the hours before bed, and definitely limit screen time, which can trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime.

Keep Your Daily Structure Intact

When external routines feel disrupted, doubling down on structure becomes even more important. Review your daily schedule and rebuild your anchors:

If your recovery meeting time feels off now, consider switching to a different meeting that fits better, or commit to attending despite the awkwardness until it feels normal again
Reschedule your exercise routine if darkness is now a barrier, maybe that evening jog becomes a lunchtime walk
Keep your mealtimes consistent; eating at regular intervals helps reinforce your circadian rhythm
Plan at least three small, rewarding activities each day that don’t involve substances, call a friend, work on a hobby, listen to music you love

Stay Active and Engaged

When daylight dwindles and energy drops, it’s tempting to hibernate. Fight this urge. Physical activity is one of the most effective natural antidepressants and anxiety reducers available to you. It doesn’t have to be intense, a daily walk, some gentle stretching, or dancing to your favorite songs all count.

Make a list of things that typically make you feel good (within your recovery framework) and commit to doing at least one daily. This purposeful scheduling of activities can counter the lethargy and low mood that often accompany this time of year.

Strengthen Your Support Network

The first two weeks after the time change are when you’re most vulnerable. This is not the time to skip therapy sessions or support group meetings. In fact, consider increasing your check-ins during this period.

Let your therapist, sponsor, or counselor know that you’re working through the time change and could use extra support. Be honest about any mood changes, sleep problems, or increased cravings you’re experiencing. Early intervention prevents small slips from becoming bigger problems.

Prepare for Holiday Triggers

With the holidays approaching, make a plan now for how you’ll handle situations that might be triggering:

Identify which social events you’ll attend and which you’ll skip
Prepare responses for when people ask why you’re not drinking
Know who you’ll call if you start feeling overwhelmed
Plan an exit strategy from gatherings that feel unsafe

Remember, protecting your sobriety sometimes means disappointing others or breaking from tradition. That’s not just okay, it’s necessary.

How Treatment Programs Can Help

Quality treatment programs recognize that recovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Seasonal changes, time transitions, and environmental factors all play a role in your success.

Residential programs offer particular advantages during vulnerable periods because they provide structured daily routines that don’t get disrupted by external schedule changes, supervised opportunities for morning light exposure through outdoor activities, and immediate support when sleep problems or mood changes emerge.

Outpatient programs can help by increasing session frequency during high-risk periods, teaching specific coping skills for managing circadian disruptions, providing accountability and monitoring for early warning signs, and coordinating with psychiatrists for medication adjustments if needed.

Programs that specialize in dual diagnosis—treating both mental health and addiction together—are especially valuable during seasonal transitions. They can simultaneously address mood changes, sleep disturbances, and substance use vulnerabilities rather than treating these issues in isolation.

At Dunham House, for example, the integrated treatment model on their tranquil 85-acre campus in Quebec’s Eastern Townships combines evidence-based therapies with attention to the biological and environmental factors that affect recovery. Their approach includes structured daily routines, therapeutic outdoor activities that maximize natural light exposure, and clinical attention to sleep and circadian rhythm, all factors that become especially important during seasonal transitions.

Whether someone needs intensive short-term stabilization through their one-month program, longer-term residential care with their six-month option, or flexible outpatient support, the program structure helps protect against the vulnerabilities that emerge during times like the end of Daylight Saving Time.

What Families Should Watch For

If you’re supporting someone in recovery, your awareness and support during this transition can make a real difference. Watch for these warning signs:

Sleep changes are they sleeping much more or much less than usual, or struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep
Mood shifts like increased irritability, persistent sadness, or emotional numbness
Withdrawal from family, friends, or support activities they previously engaged with
Loss of interest skipping recovery meetings, abandoning hobbies, or showing less motivation
Noticeable fatigue, changes in appetite, or physical restlessness
Substance-seeking signals like talking about cravings or putting themselves in risky situations

How to Help Without Enabling

Supporting someone through this vulnerable period means striking a balance between helpful structure and respect for their autonomy. Help maintain consistent daily schedules by planning activities together, suggest morning walks or outdoor time to boost light exposure, and express concern directly but compassionately when you notice warning signs.

Have a clear plan for who to call if the situation escalates, but avoid taking over their recovery or ignoring obvious warning signs. Your job isn’t to prevent all discomfort it’s to provide stable support while they navigate challenges.

Building Resilience for Future Transitions

While the end of Daylight Saving Time presents real challenges, successfully navigating it also builds confidence and skills you can use during any transition. Each time you face a potential trigger and maintain your recovery, you’re strengthening your resilience and proving to yourself that you can handle difficulty without substances.

The strategies you develop for managing sleep, light exposure, routine disruption, and mood changes aren’t just for this annual time change they’re tools you can use whenever life throws you a curveball.

As you move through this transition, be patient with yourself. Adjustment takes time, and some disruption is normal. What matters most is that you’re aware of the challenges, proactive about addressing them, and willing to reach out for support when you need it.

Recovery is a journey with many seasons. Learning to navigate each one—including the literal changing of seasons—is part of building a life that can weather whatever comes your way.

If you or someone you care about is struggling with substance use and mental health challenges, especially during seasonal transitions, professional support can make all the difference.

Programs like those offered at Dunham House provide comprehensive, integrated care in a supportive environment designed to address both addiction and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Reaching out for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

About Dunham House

Located in Quebec's Eastern Townships, Dunham House is a residential treatment centre specializing in addiction and providing support to individuals with concurrent mental health challenges. We are the only residential facility of our kind in Quebec that operates in English.

Our evidence-based programs include a variety of activities such as art, music, yoga, and equine-assisted therapy. In addition to our residential services, we offer a full continuum of care with outpatient services at the Queen Elizabeth Complex in Montreal.

How the End of Daylight Saving Time Can Impact Your Recovery Journey

Why Does a One-Hour Change Matter So Much?