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SAD People for the elimination of Standard Time

November 2nd, 2009

Want to join my crusade? I say down with Standard Time! I want my Daylight Savings Time back! Do you hate changing the clocks fall and spring? Concerned about the confusion, missed appointments, sleepiness, and increase in traffic accidents that happen in the week following a time change? Or do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) like me, and get depressed as the days shorten and the dark closes in?

The whole thing is confusing. Apparently the original idea was to save energy (candles and gas light) in the Summer by shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. For years I thought it was the other way around, that the Daylight Saving referred to the winter time when it is less dark in the morning, so that presumably the farmers can milk the cows without too many candles. But no, Daylight Savings is Summer time, and that dark dreary depressing time of year when it’s pitch dark by 6:00 p.m. is called “Standard Time.” Well I have to say I don’t like their standard! My standard is to have the light in the evening when we can use it! Sorry farmers, but it’s dark when you get up to do those chores anyway. I know it’s hard to get up in the dark, but I don’t want to waste my daylight sleeping through it.

I have a very hard time with this week of the year.  It’s like having jet-lag without going anywhere. I feel groggy and confused, and I get very blue when the sun goes down. I do get used to it, but it’s the beginning of 4 months of coping with darkness, until February when the day again lengthens enough that it feels like there is some hope left in life, somewhere.

As a Migraineur I am troubled by bright sunlight, though I can generally deal with it by wearing a hat and sunglasses and seeking the shade when outdoors. But I need the sun to feel okay emotionally – dark days make me sluggish, sleepy and sad. Yes I can get a light box and spend some time each day soaking up brightness. It’s not that there aren’t compensations. I just want Daylight Savings Time all year round. Endless Summer? Kind of. Who’s with me?

– Megan

Tags: Daylight Savings Time, Seasonal Affective Disorder, time change
Posted in Rant | Comments (2)