Not being a morning person, I've been so proud of myself for waking up early these past few weeks. However, that ends tonight with the advent of daylight saving time. I've always wondered why we do this twice a year. Why can't we just roll the clock forward and leave it alone? Daylight saving time was originally implemented to save energy but over time other benefits were found.
The earlier Daylight Saving Time allowed more people to travel home from work and school in daylight, which is much safer than darkness. Daylight Saving Time also seems to reduce people's exposure to various crimes, which are more common in darkness than in light.
However, there is a statistical increase in the number of accidents and a decrease in productivity for about five days after a time change from standard time.
If you can't tolerate the time change, states such as Arizona, Indiana and Hawaii don't observe daylight saving time. Some ways you can prepare for the time change to have little impact on your energy levels next week is to drink lots of water. Exercise a little more today so you can go to bed earlier and make up for your time debt tomorrow. Avoid alcohol, it may make you fall asleep easier, but it dehydrates the body and interrupts the sleep cycle later in the night.
A safety reminder: Many fire departments encourage people to change the battery in the smoke detector when they change their clocks, because it can be so easy to forget otherwise. "A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire," says William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan.
Posted by linda on April 03, 2004