Spring Forward

Spring forward. Apparently, that is what we will be doing on March 11th. I don’t know about you but I am still recovering from Fall back. So is my cat. He insists on eating at 3:00 p.m. and has since we turned the clocks back last November. I am getting tired of changing the clock during the spring and fall seasons, and no longer adhere to the propaganda that it really does us any good. In fact, there are a few things that it does do that are not particularly good. In an article on the website bigthink by Philip Perry called “Daylight saving time 2018: 7 myths and facts about changing the clock”, he says:

“Losing or gaining an hour may not seem too big of a change. But in fact, it can jolt the body’s internal body clock, causing a higher risk of sleep disorders, heart attacks, strokes, and miscarriages. Sudden changes in circadian rhythms can affect fertility as well. A 2013 study published in the journal Open Heart, found a 25% increase in the number of heart attacks occurring the day after a spring DST. Fatigue, decreased productivity, and even cluster headaches are also more common.”

Sounds rather ominous doesn’t it? I guess we can blame Ben Franklin, who according to Perry originated the idea to conserve candles–he figured if people got up consistently with the daylight they would use fewer candles. While Perry says that daylight saving time (there is no “s” I learned elsewhere in the article) was probably first practiced in Britain, Germany was the “first recorded country to have taken up the practice in May 1916” to save fuel during WWI. America soon followed suit–determining that the extra hour of daylight meant more leisure time and the increased sales of baseballs, barbeque paraphernalia, and golf balls.

Now who doesn’t mind messing up their circadian rhythms for a few more leisure hours spent chowing down on burgers, perfecting their golf swing, or throwing around a baseball? In all fairness daylight saving time (DST) was enacted to save energy. Wikipedia, that “know all and sees all” source says that “DST is observed in all ten Canadian provinces and three territories. However, there are exceptions within several provinces and the territory of Nunavut, including most of Saskatchewan, which observes Central Standard Time year-round even though the province is in the Mountain Zone, effectively putting it on DST year-round.”

Ah, Saskatchewan–what a rebel! Jury is still out on Nunavut….

Anyway, back to the dilemma at hand. I am none too fussy about going forward in time–but it is a close to time travel that most of us will get. And the added bonus is that my bedside clock radio will now be the right time–at least until November. (Am going to have to figure out how to change the time on that thing.)

In November we are made to feel guilty if we do not make good use of that extra hour we are afforded, but at least in the (early, not quite) spring no one is there to chastise us about using our time well. We will have lost an hour that we have to wait for months to get back.

The thing that I most enjoyed about putting the clocks forward “back in the day” was when I used to go to church, and people would show up just when the service ended. They would take their seat just before the closing prayer–then be unabashedly embarrassed as people filed out of church, just as they were settling in. I know, my sense of humour is a bit questionable, but seriously, I just loved watching for the inevitable to happen.

Here are some other views that I found interesting. I especially agree with funny man Dave Barry who sums up the whole thing quite succinctly for me. *He said: “You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight saving time.”

Anonymous was a bit curmudgeonly in his/her point of view: “Daylight saving time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot of the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”

Lastly, I will leave you on a more positive note, looking ahead to November. Victor Borges stated: “I don’t mind going back to daylight saving time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve saved all year.” Me too, Vic…me too.
*quotes assembled by Maria Vultaggio

How do you feel about this tradition that has been foisted on us?