Sorry, but daylight saving isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

SURE. Most people think that having an extra hour of daylight is a wonderful thing. But the truth is: daylight saving sucks.

There’s every chance this is a Photoshop training image that accidentally ended up in our digital library, but it perfectly expresses our feelings about daylight saving.

OH sure. Most people think that having an extra hour of daylight to sip chardonnay and frolic in the sunshine is a wonderful thing.

But the truth is: daylight saving sucks.

It was implemented by the Germans to lower fuel costs back in 1916. The concept was that while changing the clocks reduces the use of artificial lighting in the evening but increased use in the morning, the evening reduction outweighed the morning increase.

That was all well and good a century ago. But recent studies show that at best, daylight savings reduces electricity usage by 1 per cent. Other estimates, by the National Bureau of Standards in the US suggest it actually has zero effect.

It’s also universally acknowledged that clock shifts disrupt our circadian rhythms. Studies have show that, around the times of the spring clock changes, there are spikes in suicide rates and an increase in the number of recorded heart attacks in the US. In fact, when Kazakhstan ditched daylight saving in 2005, it cited health reasons.

Fun fact: Daylight saving is sometimes referred to as ‘spring forward’, which makes it sound like an new season’s fashion parade at a retirement village.

A lot of people vehemently oppose daylight saving. One of the more charming opponents is the person running the ‘Light of Day’ website in Queensland. They’re really fighting the good fight, and they’re sick of people taunting them with comments such as “what ... are you afraid an extra hour of sunlight will fade the curtains?”

They write:
“We have received emails from daylight saving opponents all over the world bemoaning, among other things: the annoying imposition of having to change up to twenty household time pieces twice a year; the utter uselessness of having to defer summer sunsets to 10pm and beyond; fatigue at having to cope with the twice-a-year disruptions to body clocks; the relief in finding out how many others hate daylight saving too; outrage at all the ‘daylight bias’ in the media (which seems to be near universal); and the tedium of having to endure ridicule, taunts and accusations of anti-progress”.

So on Sunday at 2am as we all put our clock forward an hour, let’s take a moment to consider the key sufferers in this disrespectful approach to linear time.

1) Farmers

Farmers have long hated daylight saving. Back in the day they lobbied relentlessly against it because the lost hour of the morning meant there was a rush to get to the market (and let’s face it ... they have a point. Those poor souls get up early enough as it is). Dairy farmers still hate it because they say the cows never adapt to the new schedule.

You kind of have to respect cows for refusing to get up early for anybody.

2) People who live on a border town

Spare a thought for your friends living in Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, or any other border town for that matter. Try living in one time zone and have your kids going to school in another. Nobody is being picked up on time. Ever.

3) Parents of small children

I’ll nap at 2pm and see you at 4am. Sucker.

Well done! You’ve just managed to get little Max/Annabelle/Tyrone into a regular routine. You’re getting something closer to the 7 hours of sleep per night that you desperately crave. But BAM. Here’s daylight saving to ensure that you’re now being woken at 5am instead of 6am. It’s back to the drawing board for you.

5) Anyone who is having a really good time at a nightclub on Saturday night

Daylight saving has harshed the buzz of many a party animal.

Your jam just came on. You’ve got your mojo firing. You have a short amount of time in which to convince that person of the opposite sex that you’re not a complete nuisance. And BAM, the lights come on an hour earlier than you were anticipating. Game over.

6) You

You just lost an entire hour of your life. The average person lives just 672,000 hours and you just willingly frittered one away. How horribly ungrateful.

While we may gripe and complain, daylight saving is happening and there’s very little we can do about it. A.H. Beard’s sleep expert Dr Carmel Harrington gives us her tips for adapting to daylight saving.

Plan for early bedtimes

By gradually adjusting your bedtime each night, your body will be ready when the clocks move forward come October Long Weekend. Over the next few days, plan for your bedtime to be 10-15 minutes earlier each night.

Avoid napping

Following the change in time, do your best to avoid taking a nap if you are feeling tired, at least until you are back on your normal sleep schedule. Napping will only prolong your body clock from adjusting to the time change.

Be patient with your body

Time changes affect everyone differently. As we get older, it tends to have a larger impact and therefore makes the adjustment take a little extra time. Don’t stress though – it is only an hour difference so you should be feeling back to normal in a few days.

Rise and shine

Exposure to sunlight shortly after waking up will help your body to regulate your internal clock more easily. Make the bedroom as bright as possible when you first wake up in the morning. Try eating breakfast next to a window or going for an early morning walk. Don’t try to sleep in an extra hour to make up for lost sleep – this will only throw off your body clock more.

Remember to exercise

Aside from exposure to sunlight, exercise is most helpful when trying to regulate your sleep cycle, as long as it is not too late in the day. We suggest exercising in the afternoon between 4-7pm.