I’m all for it, personally. I love the longer evenings, the energy boost I feel by that extra hour of light. It makes me get out in my yard and get busy! Yet, not everyone is a fan of daylight savings.
I did a little research, and found there are a number of cons to be considered when we lose that hour every spring. Not being particularly affected by it, I was surprised to discover the problems brought on by the change in our clocks. There are many people who suffer serious fatigue for up to three weeks following the confiscation of that precious hour. It’s also been proven a time when the rate of heart attacks is increased. And, it’s a time when we are normally getting past the worse of the flue season, only to have many fall ill because of the tiredness brought on by the run-away-hour!
Amazing what an hour means to us! And of course, it has to be taken away when we are sleeping. Like a thief in the night, each state in the union except, Hawaii, Arizona, and half of Indiana, erase an hour from our sleep. Funny, but too many of our biological clocks don’t let it go unnoticed.
I have a solution. We should not lose the hour of sleep. The affect is too negative on too many. We should loose an hour between two and three o’clock in the afternoon. And yes, we should still get paid for it. After all, people will be less likely to call in sick. They won’t be depressed, exhausted, ill, or cranky if an hour just disappears in the middle of the afternoon. “Oh, look!” they’ll say, “It’s already three o’clock! I swear it was two o’clock just a minute ago!”
It’s s very healthy solution, a solution for the many suffering severe negativity from the loss of that precious hour of sleep. In my scenario, everyone would be celebrating a nicely shortened afternoon with a little extra energy – a bounce in their step. No illness brought on by daylight savings after all! And we’ll continue to enjoy the benefits of longer evenings, less artificial light, safer driving situations, etc. Did you know pedestrian fatalities decrease by thirteen percent after daylight savings begins? Also, robberies decrease by seven percent. There really are many benefits.
Now that I’ve offered a reasonable solution to the problems associated with handing over our precious hour, we just need someone in our state legislature to realize the value in this suggestion, to step up, and get the ball rolling! Anyone?
Later,
Mary Ann
