Sunday Funnies

This weekend we celebrate the nonsense that is Daylight Savings Time. Like most things the government mandates, the name is a misnomer. We don't 'save' any daylight. We just artificially move it from one category (p.m.) to another (a.m.).

Kind of like Social Security...

Daylight Savings Time went into effect at 2:00 a.m. today. One of my co-workers is an Aggie. Every year this normally punctual person arrives late to work the Monday after the time change. I finally had to find out why.

"Do you have a problem remembering to spring forward or fall back?" I asked.

"Oh, no," she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "What gets to me is staying up until 2 a.m. to change my clock."

Body clock disrupted by 'falling back'? Stay in bed

Daylight saving time ends this weekend. At 2 a.m. Sunday, the clock falls back one hour. While most of us plan to embrace that blessed hour (by sleeping right through it), the time change can throw a few people for a loop.

“They won’t be sleep-deprived, but it’ll hurt their ability to shift their body clock,” said Dr. Alfred Lewy, a professor of psychiatry at the Oregon Health and Science University.

“It might take a couple of days. For some it takes up to a week to shift,” Lewy said. “There are research papers that show that traffic accidents increase up to a week after the changes both in the fall and spring. It’s kind of like having jet lag.”

To avoid having your body clock disrupted, Lewy’s advice is simple: “Even if you can’t sleep an extra hour, stay in bed with your eyes closed. If you want to get up, don’t go outdoors. Draw the blinds and don’t have lots of sunlight come into house.”  This could help your body adjust to the time change.