by SLLawson

Created on: November 03, 2009

The original intention for altering the time on our clocks was to give us the impression that there were actually more hours in a day than there really are. An extra hour of daylight during the summer gave farmers more time to do their harvesting while the sun was still shining. I think it also had something to do with war time as well.

The need for that extra sunlight is long gone, so why does this inconvenience still persist? Why are we left with having to adjust our internal clocks twice a year; which for me, wreaks havoc on my body, as well as my brain. And recently, not only was this disruption validated, but someone thought it a good idea to extend Daylight Saving Time.

Rather than changing the clocks in April and October, we now change them March and November. "Why?" I screamed, when I heard that first news report. Whomever came up with that idea must be suffering from sleep deprivation from a lifetime of biological clock disruption.

On Sunday, my daughter complained that even though she thought she could take advantage of that extra "fall-back" hour, her three young boys had different ideas. After all, they didn't know the clocks had changed; their bodies just told them, it's time to wake-up, so mommy and daddy were robbed of that coveted extra hour of sleep they had dreamed about.

Animals don't know the difference either, so their biological clocks were telling them (and they were barking it to their masters) "it's time for a walk - it's time for a walk." So not even pet owners get that extra hour back. In a few months, when it's time to "spring-forward" another hour will be lost once again, never to be recovered.

There have been calculations that the time change twice a year may actually cost about half a billion dollars, or more. Additional electricity is necessary in the morning hours because the clocks have been moved forward to say it's 6:00 a.m. but it's really only 5:00. And then the reverse happens when we fall back. The sun says it's 6:00 pm, but the clock only says it's 5:00, so there's more electrical use in the evenings.

Not to mention productivity loss due to people forgetting about the time change and showing up late to work, or not performing up to par because of the inability to adjust to the change. Arizona got it right when they became the only state in the contiguous U.S. that chose not to observe DST.

These man-made disruptions may have started out to boost commerce and industry, but at what cost to our mental and emotional health? Our natural rhythms flow with the sun. If we don't feel good, balanced, or rested, how much could industry actually be losing instead, because of this warp in time we are forced to endure twice a year? Time is always relative.

We are each given, purportedly, 24 hours in a day to make the most of our lives. What happens when we have to shift those hours against our will? Who is it that really benefits by the time change? Can anyone answer that question? I think we should end the practice of Daylight Saving Time and see.

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