Daylight Saving Causes Week of Weird

Are you ready to spring forward?!  It seems it was yesterday, that I was Christmas shopping and finding new places for Flash, our Elf on the Shelf, to wreak havoc each morning of December.  Now, my husband and I are discussing vegetable starts, Spring Break and plans for summer projects.  There is light at the end of the dreary tunnel, friends.  Soon, the sun will be here to stay.

Rough week ahead

Daylight saving time happens this Sunday, March, 10th at 2am.  According to The Better Sleep Council, 61% of U.S. adults say that they feel the effects of daylight saving the following Monday after setting their clocks.  Eleven percent of these adults say that it takes more than a week to adjust to the time change, while another 29% say it takes a full week.  

Did you know that 74% of adults who are not getting adequate sleep say it effects their productivity at work?  Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults say that daylight saving time effects their mood.  Car accidents, falling asleep on the job or in meetings, and admitting to be less than pleasant to be around, are just a small handful of sufferings that have been reported in relation to daylight saving time.

Things could get weird

According to surveyed adults, daylight saving time and lack of sleep has been the root to odd behavior, including:

• Drove to the wrong location
• Wore slippers outside
• Told off-color jokes
• Put paycheck in the garbage
• Went to work on day off   

The good news is that this week of weird is worth it.  Daylight saving is all about saving energy consumption.  "It’s a relatively simple idea: If we set our clocks an hour ahead, we can make the most of the longer periods of daylight during summer, gaining an extra hour of sunlight in the evening when we can spend time outside of the house and avoid using home lighting and appliances. If we don’t move the clocks forward, we waste that additional hour of sunlight in the morning, which may occur before many of us have even gotten out of bed" (Earth911).

Be ahead of the change

Begin making the adjustment to the time change, now.  Start going to bed fifteen minutes earlier and waking fifteen minutes earlier.  This will help with the "lost" hour and make adapting to the time change easier.  For you, worried daylight-savers, The Better Sleep Council has a list of tips to help you continue to function at your best.

Tell me, have you made any memorable moments due to lack of sleep?

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