I’ve often wondered about the time change we go through. Why change the clocks for part of the year so it stays lighter longer in the evening. This really does nothing to the amount of light we actually received during the day, just how much we are awake for. For me, I wouldn’t mind if they just kept the time the same all year round.
I like the fact that I have a little more daylight to do somethings after work, but my astronomy hobby doesn’t like the fact that it takes so long to get dark. I sometimes like not having to drive into the sunrise in the morning, but give it a few weeks and I’ll be driving into the sunrise a second time this year. That actually makes 4 times a year that the sun is coming in so lo that the visor doesn’t help, too bright for no sunglasses, but not bright enough for my dark pair. I don’t want to miss the deer that like the dawn to move from place to place.
And I often wonder, why am I more tired during this week. Getting up an hour earlier? I don’t get any less sleep, but then again I don’t get anymore. But I get tired earlier too. Is it all in my head? Probably that is it. That is where all my sleep problems lie.
So, until next November we have daylight savings. I know it never saved me any daylight. I get up when I please, or when the alarm rings, and stay up until all hours. Heck, I work most of the sunlight away anyway, in my dark windowless cubical…
I just wonder when daylight savings time is going to be abandoned – it doesn’t exactly seem like an idea for modern times. I found this map on wikipedia that is interesting – color codes the world according to who still practices daylight savings, who’s abandoned it, and who never bothered:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
It doesn’t bother me personally – the kids used to get wacky about it for weeks, but the past two times we’ve changed the clocks, I haven’t noticed a change in their behavior. If anything, the little guy has actually been sleeping in – going to bed an hour later, but sleeping in the morning an hour later too and that’s better. I love taking our family walks after dinner when it’s still light out. Ask me in the middle of summer when the kids don’t want to go to bed before 10 because “it’s not dark yet”. But staying light until 10 is always something I’ve enjoyed about where we live. I used to really enjoy when eastern Indiana was an hour behind us for part of the year; that way I could miss a show in the eastern time zone, but still get it an hour later on the Fort Wayne stations, but that’s gone now.
I would be sad if they did away with it, but only for nostalgic reason, I think I’d get over it. I do love the extra hour of sleep in the fall, but loathe losing one in the spring.