It’s that time of year again when our alarm clocks magically spring forward depriving us of an hour of sleep every night until November 3rd. Yes, Daylight Savings Time begins on March 10, 2024. The following vivid, flowery description is from the New York Times:
Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are rising, days are lengthening — all sure signs of spring. But another, less welcome change is afoot: At 2 a.m. on Sunday, most people in the United States will “spring” their clocks forward by one hour.
For many of us, this transition is more difficult than it is when we “fall back” in autumn, in part because we lose an hour of sleep, said Dr. Rachel Ziegler, a sleep medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Minnesota.
Do we really “lose an hour of sleep” only to find it again next autumn? No, we just rearrange where the sun is when we go to bed and wake up in the morning.
“But really, it’s much more than that,” she said, because the clock change also shifts the timing of sunrise and sunset. After we spring forward, the mornings will be darker and the evenings will be lighter, making it more challenging to both wake up and fall asleep.
In fact, this can create a monthslong mismatch between our internal clocks and our school and work schedules, leaving many people chronically short on sleep, said Dr. James Rowley, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This is why the organization supports the elimination of daylight saving time altogether, he added.
Experts claim the best way to adjust to the time change is to get enough sleep. That sounds stupid to me: the best way to avoid feeling drowsy from lack of sleep is to get enough sleep? That’s self-evident. The real question is how do you (and your kids) adjust to the time change so you’re sleepy when it’s time for bed? How do you adjust to the fact that when your regular bedtime rolls around you haven’t wound down during the three hours of darkness that are customary during much of the winter?
The New York Times suggests gradually shifting your mealtimes and bedtimes beginning a few days earlier.
Starting at least a few days before the time change, try going to bed and waking up about 15 minutes earlier each day, said Jade Wu, a sleep psychologist and researcher at Duke University School of Medicine. This can help ease the transition, she said.
I have a better idea. How about this: On Saturday, March 9th get up around 6:00am when you would rather sleep-in until 10:00am. Party as late you want to on Saturday night but still get up at 6:00am on Sunday. If your lawn is like mine, it already needs to be mowed for the first time this year. Get busy with yardwork, housework and anything else you’ve been putting off. Workout vigorously and jog 10 miles. When 10:00pm rolls around I bet you will be ready for bed regardless of where the sun is on the horizon.
Supposedly, even our pets have trouble adjusting to Daylight Savings Time. I don’t believe it. My dog Clementine is perfectly happy to get up an hour earlier, knowing she can take a 10-hour nap after lunchtime.
Two years ago, I wrote about past attempts to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. It was tried in the 1940s and later repealed. It was also done in the 1970s and later repealed. Every Member of Congress agrees the current system is disruptive and the United States needs to stop changing our clocks twice a year. The issue they cannot agree on is whether to keep Daylight Savings Time or just stay with Standard Time. If we stick with permanent Standard Time, we enjoy an hour less daylight after work in the Summer. If we adopt permanent Daylight Savings Time, we enjoy an hour more daylight all year around at the expense of children going to school in the dark during Winter. George Mason University economics professor, Charles Blahous, compared sunrise in various midwestern cities under permanent daylight-savings time:
Omaha: 8:49 AM.
Minneapolis: 8:51 AM
Salt Lake City: 8:51 AM
Detroit: 9:01 AM
Indianapolis: 9:06 AM
Going to school in the dark is supposedly dangerous for children but personally I prefer an hour of extra daylight in the evenings. Unlike the 1940s and 1970s, young children do not walk alone or ride their bikes to school. If you do not believe me, try driving by a grade school at 3:30pm. The cars with parents lined up waiting for their kids snake around the block and then some.
I still see a few children walking to school, at the rare times I’m awake that early. With a declining birth rate, them may have farther to travel.
I’m beyond worrying about the time change, other than the nuisance of having to adjust manual clocks, but I always found it more difficult to sleep too soon after sunset.