Clock changes

Clocks Go Forward: How Much Sleep Do We Lose?

On the night the clocks went forward in 2026, Brits got 9 minutes less sleep, woke up 3% more often, went to bed 14 minutes earlier and got up 23 minutes later than on a typical Saturday night.

In the UK the clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday of March. We compared the night of the change with the Saturdays around it to measure the real sleep cost.

Updated daily · data to Nov 1, 2026 · How we measure

In 141 daysClocks go forward (UK) 2027 falls on Saturday, March 27, 2027. Results will be published a few days later.

Sleep vs normal

−9 min

6h 42m vs 6h 51m

Wake-ups vs normal

+3%

3.8 vs 3.7 per night

Bedtime

10:24pm

−14 min vs usual 10:38pm

Under 6 hours of sleep

33%

+4 pts vs usual 29%

What the data shows

  • Brits slept an average of 6h 42m, compared with 6h 51m on a typical Saturday night.
  • 20% fell asleep after midnight, compared with 26% normally.
  • The next morning, people got up at 9:08am on average, 23 minutes later than usual.
  • 33% of sleepers got less than six hours, against 29% on a normal Saturday.
  • The effect was smaller than in 2025, when the change in sleep was −36 min.

Sleep in the nights around Clocks go forward (UK) 2026

United Kingdom · dashed line is a typical Saturday

  • Sleep
  • Typical Saturday

Source: Sleepiest sleep data · to Nov 1, 2026

Sleep in the nights around Clocks go forward (UK) 2026
NightSleepWake-upsBedtime
Mar 21, 20266h 51m3.7410:35pm
Mar 22, 20266h 37m3.4610:22pm
Mar 23, 20266h 44m3.6510:18pm
Mar 24, 20266h 44m3.4810:23pm
Mar 25, 20266h 41m3.6810:18pm
Mar 26, 20266h 39m3.7110:25pm
Mar 27, 20266h 47m3.7910:40pm
Mar 28, 20266h 42m3.8410:24pm
Mar 29, 20266h 43m3.6810:30pm
Mar 30, 20266h 48m3.5710:37pm
Mar 31, 20266h 44m3.6010:32pm
Apr 1, 20266h 44m3.6010:29pm
Apr 2, 20266h 50m3.5210:37pm
Apr 3, 20266h 49m3.5910:40pm
Apr 4, 20266h 45m3.8010:32pm

Wake-ups in the nights around Clocks go forward (UK) 2026

United Kingdom · average times sleep was broken per night

  • Wake-ups
  • Typical Saturday

Source: Sleepiest sleep data · to Nov 1, 2026

Wake-ups in the nights around Clocks go forward (UK) 2026
NightWake-ups
Mar 21, 20263.74
Mar 22, 20263.46
Mar 23, 20263.65
Mar 24, 20263.48
Mar 25, 20263.68
Mar 26, 20263.71
Mar 27, 20263.79
Mar 28, 20263.84
Mar 29, 20263.68
Mar 30, 20263.57
Mar 31, 20263.60
Apr 1, 20263.60
Apr 2, 20263.52
Apr 3, 20263.59
Apr 4, 20263.80

Clocks go forward (UK), year on year

United Kingdom · minutes of sleep vs a typical night

Source: Sleepiest sleep data · to Nov 1, 2026

Clocks go forward (UK), year on year
YearNightSleep vs normalWake-ups vs normalBedtime vs normal
2025Mar 29, 2025−36 min+7%−4 min
2026Mar 28, 2026−9 min+3%−14 min

Upcoming dates

  • Clocks go forward (UK) 2027Saturday, March 27, 2027

Frequently asked questions

When do the clocks go forward in the UK?

At 1am on the last Sunday in March, when the clocks jump to 2am. In 2027 that is Sunday 28 March.

Do we lose an hour of sleep when the clocks go forward?

Not quite a full hour in our data, but it was one of the biggest drops in sleep of the year. The figures above show how much Brits lost.

How do I prepare for the clocks going forward?

Go to bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier for a few nights beforehand, and get outside in the morning light on the Sunday.

More sleep data

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Figures are anonymised averages from Sleepiest app users who track their sleep, not a representative sample of the population. Nights are compared with the same weekday in the surrounding weeks. Groups with too few sleepers are never shown. Methodology