Here we go again! Today is the end of Daylight Saving Time, or should I say the beginning of winter blues. Most of us find daylight savings time changes confusing. Just remember in the fall we fall back; in the spring we spring forward. Last year I wrote:
“Benjamin Franklin was the inventor of Daylight Saving Time with a satirical essay he wrote on the subject in 1784. Then in 1907, an English builder, William Willett, proposed a bill to implement the concept, but was ridiculed for it. It never came to fruition in either of their lifetimes. Daylight Saving Time was established in the U.S. in March, 1918, and was appealed in 1919. Germany went with the concept during World War I, soon after other European countries followed suit. The U.S. began practicing Daylight Saving Time once again during World War II; however, Arizona and Hawaii don’t participate in daylight savings.”
I also shared some information from webexhibits.org/
daylightsaving/b.html.
“In the U.S., 2 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.”
“Through 2006, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. ended a few days before Halloween on Oct. 31. Children’s pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Halloween than on any other night of the year. A new law to extend DST to the first Sunday in November took effect in 2007, with the purpose of providing trick-or-treaters more light and therefore more safety from traffic accidents.
“For decades, candy manufacturers lobbied for a Daylight Saving Time extension to Halloween, as many of the young trick-or-treaters gathering candy are not allowed out after dark, and thus an added hour of light means a big holiday treat for the candy industry. Anecdotally, the 2007 switch may not have had much effect, as it appeared that children simply waited until dark to go trick-or-treating.”
So, now that the daylight is vanishing faster than that leftover Halloween candy, most of us feel less energetic and tend to sleep and eat more as winter approaches. A more serious sense of despondence comes to those who suffer Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, as the hours of daylight wane. I read that some that work daily in an office with no windows at all may suffer from SAD year round. About 70 percent to 80 percent of those with SAD are women, and the onset is most common in women in their 30s. Increasing latitude along with less sunlight seems to play a part in the SAD phenomenon, as well. The mood difference of a person living in Florida versus that same person living in Buffalo can be a matter of higher latitude and less exposure to sunlight. Some very sensitive individuals may even note changes in mood during long stretches of cloudy weather.
Light therapy is helpful to lift the depression. That's understandable. It is also said that daily exercise will help curb the increase appetite and help enhance one’s mood.
However you look at it, the sunny days sure make most of us a bit more chipper and the cloudy cold days put most of us in a bit of a funk. Since we’ve got six months of the latter to go; I guess we better get used to it.
Deb Drinkwalter is a Lockport resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Contact her at d.drinkwalter@yahoo.com.
Deb Drinkwalter
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