Romanticizing Daylight Savings
Hi friends!
The daylight savings time change has officially happened — we’ve gained an hour of sleep, and the evenings are officially darker earlier. If you’re anything like me, you feel the most productive when the sun is up, not necessarily based on the time of day. The last couple of mornings have been brutal for my husband and I — it’s been so much easier to sleep in with how dark and cozy the mornings have been. Needless to say, I’m excited to have bright mornings back again! But that doesn’t mean I love the early dark evenings either.
I know the majority of people don’t love this time change (except for that extra hour of sleep), since it means darker evenings and fewer late-night sunset walks like in the summer. But I thought it would be fun to write a blog post about ways to romanticize this seasonal shift in daylight.
I think the best way to make the most of this daylight savings time is to truly embrace both — the hours when the sun is awake and the cozy hours when the moon is up. Even though it’s brighter earlier and darker earlier, shifting your rhythms can be such a refreshing way to reset your routine and find new cozy moments to look forward to.
Romanticizing the Early Mornings
To kick off, let’s start with the mornings that now get brighter earlier! Personally, I’m a morning person and living for this early daylight.
A few ways to utilize the early sunlight: get up and move your body earlier to energize yourself and start the day strong! Like I said, it was hard to feel motivated when it was still dark out around 6:30 or 7 a.m., but now that the sun’s out, it makes me want to go for an early morning walk or workout.
Research shows that getting sunlight first thing in the morning is amazing for your circadian rhythm — and that’s definitely something I want to include more of during this time change.
Continuing that thought, waking up earlier gives you more time in the morning to do things for yourself before heading to your 9–5 or class. Some cozy morning ideas? Go on a coffee date with a friend or grab your Bible and head to a local coffee shop. I naturally think that reading your Bible is one of the best morning rhythms, but there’s just something extra romantic about doing it in a cute café with a fun latte in hand. Plus, caffeine first thing? Always a bonus!
As you can tell, mornings are my favorite — so I’m very much in favor of these new early sunrise times!
Cozying Up in the Evenings
Now for the evenings — this is where people tend to lose excitement about daylight savings because it means our nights get darker sooner. Depending on your schedule, you can still squeeze in a quick sunset walk right after work, around 5 or 5:30 p.m., depending on your time zone.
As the air gets crisper and the weather cooler, your evenings can get cozier too! Since it gets dark earlier, this is the perfect time to add cozy rhythms to your nighttime routine.
For example — welcome to soup and s’mores season! One of my favorite things to do as fall transitions to winter is to put a big pot of soup on the stove — whether it’s tortellini soup, taco soup, chili… you get the idea. There’s just something so warm and comforting about a bowl of soup, and it’s so easy to make. When I eat something warm like that, all I want to do is stay in and curl up under a blanket — which leads me to my next point.
Cozy at-home movie nights are the way to go once it’s dark outside! You can even start them as early as 7 p.m. If you have kids, it’s such a fun way to bond before bedtime since it’s already dark out. Curling up with a blanket, a bowl of soup, and your best friends or husband? That sounds like a dream winter evening to me.
Some of my go-to cozy movies: the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Holiday, and of course, any classic Hallmark Christmas movie. There’s just something about them that screams cozy.
Even though it’s only November, as Christmas approaches and people start putting up their lights, that’s another magical way to enjoy the darker evenings — hot chocolate in hand, Christmas music playing in the car, driving around to see the twinkling lights. Simple, sweet, and full of joy!!
I hope this post brings some light (pun intended!) to what many see as the downside of the time change. Saying goodbye to those long summer nights can feel bittersweet, but there’s so much to romanticize about this season. Hopefully, this gave you a few cozy ideas for embracing your mornings and evenings with the new daylight rhythm.
For more inspiration on cozy morning routines and romanticizing your “5-to-9 after your 9-to-5,” head over to my Instagram and TikTok — I post daily!
XO, Em
