Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
Time is on my mind these days. In two weeks, Mrs. Surak will go to visit her aging parents at their apartment in a senior community in China. China is about as far as you can get on a clock from the American east coast during America’s observance of daylight savings time. In each direction, there will be the very slow and unpleasant process of adjusting the circadian rhythm by twelve hours.
She tells me that people tend to adjust by about one hour per day. So upon her return, I plan to see each day as moving one hour from east to west according to the following map, from Wikipedia.
Twice per year, I read articles proposing changes to the current time system in America. One group of people wants to end daylight saving time (DST) and make standard time permanent. Another group of people wants to make DST permanent. A third group of people want to leave things the way they are, and I belong to that group.
In the mid-latitudes where I live, sunrise varies from as late as 7:30 AM standard time in the winter to as early as 5:30 AM DST in the summer. Sunrise is important because it signals our bodies that it is time to awaken, no matter when you went to sleep. The activities of traditional societies vary in an annual rhythm according to the time of sunrise.
If standard time were permanent year-round, then the sun would rise as early as 4:30 AM in the summer - too early!
If DST were permanent year-round, then the sun would rise as late as 8:30 AM in the winter - too late!
It is appropriate to vary our time of awakening based on the time of sunrise. While that seems like the most healthful practice, some doctors disagree. They point out the enormous amount of stress that comes twice per year, especially in the spring, when people are expected to suddenly awaken one hour earlier. This leads to adverse health effects for many, I read.
We can do two things about this. One is to awaken a few minutes earlier each day in the week or two before we change our clocks in the springtime. This decreases the size of the shock.
My other proposal would require legislation from Congress, or at least at the state level. I propose that the change from standard time to DST should take place over Friday night, rather than Saturday night. This would give us an additional day over the weekend to prepare us for the change coming Monday morning. No good purpose is served by delaying the change to Saturday night.
I want to conduct my first poll of my readers. What are your preferences? Leave things the way they are, permanent standard time, or permanent daylight saving time? If you could not get your wish, what would be your second choice?
Leave it alone > permanent standard time > permanent DST
Leave it alone > permanent DST > permanent standard time
Permanent DST > leave it alone > permanent standard time
Permanent DST > permanent standard time > leave it alone
Permanent standard time > permanent DST > leave it alone
Permanent standard time > leave it alone > permanent DST
I am casting half a vote for option 1 and half a vote for option 2. I know I prefer the present system with its flaws.
It has to be left alone because, here in the UK, the dark winter mornings mean that children would be walking to school in the dark. So choice is no change but 1 if anything.
Wow. I just got a cancelled subscription right after publishing this article. That sometimes happens after I write about controversial political subjects. It has never happened after writing about something as bland as daylight saving time. I wonder what irritated that reader? Hm.