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Sun 26 Oct, 2003 03:44 pm
Remember: Fall Back Sunday
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2003
With an autumn tingle in the air and leaves changing to their fall colors, it's that time again to set the clocks back.
Remember "fall back."
For one night, the shift will give many folks an extra hour of sleep as clocks are set back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, local time.
It also means this is the weekend some people get stuck working an extra hour ?- factory workers on the overnight shift, all-night convenience store clerks, bartenders, police and even some news reporters.
For most people, though, it simply means having to remember to set the clock back an hour before retiring Saturday night.
Daylight saving time returns on April 4.
While that technically means you should get an extra hour of sleep, plenty of people have a hard time adjusting to the change, says The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.
People in their 40s and up who have their internal clocks very set and little kids who have a rigid schedule will have a harder time adjusting, Senay points out. Consequently, parents who thought they could get an extra hour of sleep, think again. The kids will be up.
Depending on the age group, some people also think that since they gain an extra hour, they can stay up an hour later. But Senay says all you get is an extra hour of waking time because chances are your internal clock is going to get you up.
A lot of people like to use alcohol as a way to get to sleep, but Senay notes, alcohol may help you get to sleep but, ultimately, it will disturb your sleeping pattern.
Of course, there are things you can do to make the transition easier:
Make your room very dark and quiet. The minute you get exposed to light, your body is up and ready to go.
When you do get up, try to expose yourself to very bright light.
Regular sleep patterns are important because when you don't have enough sleep, you have all kinds of problems. There are studies that show that even losing an hour or two of sleep, if you need that, can affect you as if you had a or two glass of alcohol.
Our bodies don't function as well every day if we don't get that regular sleep.
The adjustment shouldn't take more than a few days, maybe a week at maximum, for most people.
If it takes six months, you're in trouble because that's when we spring forward.
i used to get real grouchy and pissed off during the low light months. my wife bought me one of those bright cycle lights and we use it to wake up in the winter. it starts with low lumens and then intensifies till, about 630 AM youre in fairly bright light. It has worked like a champ for my form of grouchy sAD. Now Im just a really nice puppy dog in the morning.
I despise Daylight Saving Time. Can anyone give me any sensible reason for it? BBB has told us what a disturbance it is to our poor old bods. Why do we have to go through this twice a year?
Betcha some political party could make points by making this issue a plank in their platform.
We've just started Daylight Saving Time. Because it will be light at the time I get up, I'll save on energy bills by putting on the lights one hour later in the evening. Other than that, I don't really notice the change.
The biggest problem is changing the time in all the clocks and watches....
It is a minor pain, but I vaguely remember being told it is done so we don't go to work in the mornings when it's dark (safer on roads for kids to school as well) and also something to do with farmers as well.
All those who work an extra hour should hopefully lose an hour of work in spring when clocks go forward to balance out.
I try to be in a night-club when it happens. Most clubs where I live shut at 2am, but will stay open for the 'second' last hour (1-2am) so extra time in club for free!
Remember
Grumble, grumble, grumble. I still say it's a crock.
Wilso -- Sure you can turn on the lights an hour later in the evening, but don't you need lights an hour earlier in the morning? Daylight hours stretch only in one direction.
I love daylight savings time. It's standard time I hate. To hell with it.
Remember
Hey, maybe we could do away with time altogether. Would solve a lot of problems. You would never need to be late again. You could remain your favorite age forever. Christmas could come every day. The possibilities are endless.
When we "fall back", we gain an hour of sunlight in the morning, and lose one in the evening. That's what I hated about living in Boston, in winter it got dark at 4:00 PM !!!! I was confused by Wilso's post until I realized it was from Australia. You guys do everything backwards down under, even your toilets are weird.
Me, I like the change. I have trouble getting up when it's dark outside and tend to be late for work for much of October.
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