Very few of us like to see the end of Daylight Saving Time, which ends Sunday at 2 a.m. as it ushers in earlier sunrise times, yes — but it also means earlier sunsets and the onset of winter.

If there’s any good news, it is, of course, that you get an extra hour of shuteye when we transition from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard Time. But the shift also could disrupt your sleep cycle. If there’s any good news in that, it’s that the transition might not be as adverse as you think, at least compared to the other way around.

“It’s a lot easier going from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard Time because we’re actually pushing back the clock and people can get an extra hour of sleep if they want it,” says sleep medicine specialist Dr. Robert Satriale, who sees patients at Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Going the other way in the spring – pushing the clock forward — is more jarring. “When you’re suddenly forcing yourself to wake up an hour earlier, your body’s circadian rhythm has not adjusted to that,” Satriale says, referring to the body’s internal time clock.

That alarm clock is really a structure in the brain called suprachiasmatic nucleus, he explains. It sits just above where the optic nerves cross, so when you open your eyes in the morning and light shines into them, that signals it’s your time to wake up. Typically, the brain wants to fall asleep 16 to 17 hours after you open your eyes.

The “clock” goes off at the time you usually wake up when the light is very dim, and it rings louder and louder as the morning goes on and the light gets brighter, until just after lunch, between 1 and 2 p.m., when the light dims and we feel a bit sleepy — the afternoon dip. It starts ringing louder again until about 8 p.m., when all that ringing tails off and we begin to feel sleepy.

“Wakefulness is not light like a light switch,” he says. “It’s sort of like a light on a dimmer. When you wake up in the morning, the light is shining dimly, and it gradually gets brighter and brighter as the day goes on. And that correlates to your level of alertness. You’re not just asleep or awake. There’s lots of transition time that has to occur.”

The extra hour of slumber that you’ll receive this Sunday can actually be a good thing, Satriale says, in our notoriously sleep-deprived society. But that doesn’t mean there are no downsides.

Certain populations are at risk. That would include the elderly, he says, because as we get older, we tend to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier — and generally get less sleep overall.

“So, suddenly you’re pushing the clocks back and instead of them waking up at 5 o’clock, they’re waking up at 4 in the morning, and they’re just not happy with it,” Satriale says. “And many times, when they try to stay up later, that little alarm clock in their brain is still going to go off at the same time, and they’re going to wake up at the same time. So they have a hard time adjusting to it.”

Patients with psychiatric disorders like anxiety or depression also might have a hard time coping with the time change. It can make their mood worse, Satriale says.

For anyone who has a hard time adjusting to the time change, there are several potential remedies.

Physical activity is always good for sleep, he says — and it doesn’t matter whether you work out later in the day: “We used to think that exercising later in the evening would impair your body from falling asleep, but that doesn’t appear to be true.”

Spending time online, on your phone or watching TV at night disrupts the circadian rhythm, Satriale says. “All of these things can interrupt the sleep cycle.”

Research suggests that blue light from screens drops production of the hormone melatonin, which helps you feel drowsy and ready to hit the hay. Limiting exposure to blue light for at least an hour before bedtime is recommended.

Finally, exposure to natural light after dinner is a powerful solution, Satriale suggests.

One way to ensure light exposure is to use a light box or light therapy lamp after dinner time. The amount of light these devices deliver is measured by a term called lux. Thirty minutes of exposure to a lamp delivering 10,000 lux is considered optimal.

You also can use light glasses, which deliver up to 10,000 lux via small LED lights in the frame.

Or you can always go for the low-tech solution.

“Many times, all I’m really prescribing is telling people to go out for a walk after dinner,” Satriale says. “Get that light and it will help you sleep a bit later the following morning. Light is the most powerful entrainer in the circadian rhythm.”