The tyranny of the clock
Saturday, March 8, 2008
TONIGHT, most of the United States will again subject itself to the annual torment that is daylight saving time. Why?
Why should a people who are increasingly sleep-deprived subject themselves twice a year to playing silly games with the nation’s clocks — games that can only disturb daily schedules and further disrupt sleep?
Supporters of daylight saving time claim that setting the clocks forward an hour in the sunny months saves electricity because people don’t need to turn on lights in their homes until late in the evening.
It is possible that the scheme does cut down on the use of electric lights, but recent studies indicate that what may be gained on lighting is lost in increased use of electricity for air conditioning. Several of those studies have found that use of electricity actually rises when daylight saving time goes into effect.
If the time change does not save energy, what benefit does it have?
Well, it’s good for golf courses and other outdoor entertainments, giving people more time to play after work before the sun goes down. Retailers that stay open late may see an increase in sales while the sun is up. But the benefits do not extend to movie theaters, which tend to lose evening business. In fact, time shifting played a role in the disappearance of drive-in theaters.
Television networks also report a decline in evening viewers during daylight saving time. People are not so willing to sit inside and watch TV while the sun is still shining outside.
All of the arguments for and against daylight saving time must be weighed against one certainty: For the next eight months, most Americans will have to wake up one hour earlier in the morning. People used to getting up at 5 a.m. will find themselves blindly groping for the snooze button on the alarm at what seems like 4 a.m. It can take weeks for the human body to adjust to the change, and they are miserable weeks.
Is going through that worth the effort just so someone else can get in an extra round of golf in the evening?
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Personally, I wish we would just stay on Daylight Savings Time year-round. Why switch? I enjoy the extra evening sunlight - why even bother to take it away 4 months of the year?
March 8, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
USNretired (anonymous) says...
Evening exercise is good, get out and enjoy the sunlight and other's company.
March 8, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
DST is just another intrusion into our lives by a government intent on dictating what is best for us. What a joke. I despise DST. I am a morning person---the best part of the day---and hate fumbling around in the dark so a few elitists can get in a few holes of golf after work instead of being home with their families. The sooner we wise up and dump it, the better. Besides, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature.
March 8, 2008 at 12:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Bjnemp, you are wrong to stereotype all people who enjoy longer evening hours as "golf playing elitists". One reason I always liked DST was that when I was on the farm after getting home from my day job, there was still enough sunlight to do the chores. Once we go on standard time, I was doing all the work in the dark. Longer evening hours aren't ALL about fun for everyone.
As for "fooling Mother Nature", do you think Mother Nature sets clocks? Our hourly divisions of the day are numbers imposed on our daily routine by humans. It only makes sense to structure ones day so that the majority of people enjoy the maximum benefit of the daylight hours.
I guess I could say I don't care much for "morning elitists, who only want to get up early and drink coffee all morning", but then I'd sound like you and I don't want to do that. Most people head to their jobs in the mornings, and their spare time for other work/play/etc is in the evening, probably for the vast majority of people. I think it's silly to impose an arbitrary clock time on that all winter to take away what precious daylight hours people may be able to spend after their day job.
March 8, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Open_eyes: I don't drink coffee but I like to take early morning walks 365 days a year and I prefer to walk in daylight. I walk at least 5 miles and usually leave the house by 5:30. While roaming around in the dark during DST I have been accosted by drunks, hassled by panhandlers, threatened by mentally ill homeless people, and attacked by dogs. Only once have I had a problem with a human when it was light out. I now possess a concealed carry permit and walk "heavy" to dissuade the dogs of darkness.
March 8, 2008 at 11:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Well, bjnemp, I preferred to do my chores in the light as well. In the dark of winter, once DST ended, I broke more things, lost more things, injured myself more, and generally took longer to accomplish the same tasks. So everyone has their reasons for one or the other.
But it wasn't because I was "a golf-playing elitist"......
March 9, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Good for you, open_eyes. I have friends(?) who are "golf playing elitists" but since you assure me you are not, I will take you off that list and transfer you to my list of "just plain ol' friends". How's that?
March 9, 2008 at 1:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Sounds good. I play golf occasionally but I suck at it.
Probably because I didn't have time to practice since it took me longer to do all my chores in the dark - LOL
March 9, 2008 at 3:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wanderer (anonymous) says...
Not only is DST an energy-waster, but a study in the 90s found that the auto accident rate goes up slightly when DST starts, possibly due to disorientaton. I just hate it because it steals an hour of sleep from me ... and I like brighter mornings.
March 10, 2008 at 12:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
4Jayhawks (anonymous) says...
I don't care which it is, I just wish they would leave it alone one way or the other.....
March 11, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
traceygraham (Tracey Graham) says...
I'm entirely with you, 4Jayhawks. Pick one and stick with it.
And open_eyes - you're right as can be. ALL clock timings are a human imposition on the natural cycles.
March 12, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
You're right about natural cycles, tracey. My cat seems to have the right idea. When the house brightens up with the sun, he gets out of his bed. When the sun goes down, he returns to it. I wish it were that easy for the rest of us.
March 12, 2008 at 7:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
On a "lighter" note... create must have a crazy cat. Most of the ones I've been around tend to sleep 22 hours a day and spend the other two being lavished on by their owners and generally laying around looking unamused at just about everything!!
March 13, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I guess Thomas Justagato must be a crazy cat. Here it is nearly 3:30 p.m. and he is happily attacking a feather. Earlier he was on my computer desk knocking off some cellophane wrapped candy, a pen, a pack of post-it notes, and a letter opener. "Hey!" I said, "Knock it off!" He looked at me and smiled, "That's exactly what I'm doing."
March 13, 2008 at 3:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I agree, I wish life was organized so that it worked out best for everyone, whether they like the extra daylight in the morning or in the evening. I understand people work evening shifts, night shifts, etc, and there is no way to please everyone all the time.
I'm just saying that, in my opinion, the way most people's lives are structured, (meaning a 9 to 5 job or a rough equivalent), most outside of work activites (whether it is golf, softball league, kids sports, grilling on the deck, or just family time) - is going to take place in the evening, after most people are home from work, and kids are home from school. And that is when most people appreciate the extra daylight hours.
I'm with 4Jayhawks, though, I just wish we'd leave it one way or the other and be done with it. And, just my personal preference, I'd prefer to be on DST year-round. I have lots to do in the evenings when I get home from work :)
March 13, 2008 at 4:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporia (anonymous) says...
I'm with you folks...I would like it one way or the other. I love the evening daylight. However, this changing back and forth...the spring is the WORSE time trying to get used to. I feel like I have been a walking zombie most of the week at work and I can't sleep when I am supposed to. Crazy...wish I could be like Thomas Justagato!
March 13, 2008 at 6:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )