Thanks to social media, complaining about the return to Standard Time becomes a “trend” at this time every year. A meme with the moon coming up is titled “The sun setting at 4:30 pm? That’s great–said no one ever.” The internet is also chock full of opinion pieces talking about how “out-dated” Daylight Saving Time is–and that we should just spring ahead one year–and never fall back.
Well allow me to defend Standard Time. As someone who gets up before 3:00 am every day for work–this is the best week of the year–by far. I actually feel fresh when I woke up this morning–and will likely feel the same until my body adjusts to “regular time” again. Throw in an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning and getting everything done by noon for a change and that’s just an added bonus.
And with it getting dark very early now, taking my afternoon naps is much easier. Although the 4:15 wake up rollover and slight panic that it might be AM instead of PM throws me off sometimes. But when you go to bed around 8:00–it’s easier to fall asleep when it is pitch dark than when the sun is still shining into the room.
And for those of us up here in the North–what difference does it make if it gets dark at 4:30 or at 5:30 during the winter? It’s not like you were going to spend that extra hour of daylight outside doing something fun. Personally, I find it more depressing to be sunny and cold than dark and cold–because you are stuck in the house either way.
If it was up to me, we would “spring back” and have more light in the morning during the summer. Those who labor outside would probably enjoy having their eight hours in before the heat of the afternoon rises. Think of how enjoyable it would be to get your round of golf in before work instead of trying to race the sun after work (although that would likely cut down on beer consumption during and after the round). Runners could get in more miles in the cool mornings and farmers could have their work done earlier in the day as well.
The main reason people complain about the return to Standard Time now is that they are slaves to their TV viewing habits. Everyone should be refreshed and feel like they are sleeping in this morning–but most around here will be dragging butt because they stayed up late to watch the Packers–or perhaps Game 5 of the World Series. Play those “night games” starting at 5:00–and everyone would have been in bed by 8:30 last night.
Now back to my nap–Daylight Saving Time–and the dreaded loss of an hour’s sleep–is just four months away.
