It happens every year, but Daylight Saving Time still manages to catch many people by surprise. Early Sunday, clocks were pushed forward one hour from 2 to 3 a.m. to start Daylight Saving Time. And this fall, they will drop back an hour to go into Standard Time.

That means this Monday, March 14, is likely a day when most people will feel exhausted, thanks to a seemingly way-too-early wake-up call. In fact, the average person sleeps 40 minutes less the night following the springtime change than they do on a typical night. While the majority of people will adjust by  Wednesday, some unlucky ones will end up suffering the entire week.

It seems like a small thing, but moving your entire day forward by an hour can really throw off your sleep cycle. Suddenly, there is less light in the morning (which is when you need to wake up) and more light at night (which is when you should be falling asleep). Instead of operating in low gear after the time change, and consuming way to much coffee, do what you can to prepare yourself to sail through the adjustment easily.

If you haven’t done so already, it’s too late to prepare the week before by clocking some extra sleep hours, but, according to Greg L. Kantner, chief polysomnographic technologist at the UHealth Sleep Medicine Program, you can:

1. Use light to your advantage. How bright your environment is affects your sleep cycle. So, whenever possible, head outside early in the mornings and soak in some sunlight. The opposite holds true for nighttime: Make sure you dim your lights when you want to signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep and avoid staring at computer screens late in the day.
2. Rethink your evening activities. Tweaks to your nighttime routine can help you drift off more easily—something that’s tough to do when you spring forward. A few important ones: Limit caffeine and alcohol intake in the hours leading up to bedtime and don’t schedule a nighttime workout.

If you still feel like you’re just not getting enough sleep, check out the UHealth’s “sleep aware” test.