Daylight Saving Time 2012: Turn your clocks fall back and gain an extra hour tonight

Daylight Saving Time is here again and in the early morning hours of Sunday the majority of the clocks in the U.S. need to “fall back.” While Daylight Saving Time has it purpose as an energy saving strategy, it also comes with a downside, according to The Columbian on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012.


You gain an hour on Sunday, which is the plus side of Daylight Saving Time. In the spring when you lose an hour researchers and scientists have found that the extra hour of sunlight in the morning that you initially lose can take a heavy toll on mood and productivity. While most just find themselves experiencing a sleepy Monday morning, others have experienced accidents in the workplace and even car accidents from being so sleepy.

Stock market dips have also been blamed on the Daylight Saving Time lack of sleep in the spring when the clocks jump ahead an hour. The changing of the clocks in the fall is a bit easier, as gaining an hour doesn’t seem to throw too many people off, unless of course you work the third shift on Saturday night into Sunday. You end up working an hour more and anyone that works the graveyard shift can tell you that last hour seems like it will just never end!

While you gain and extra hour, Daylight Saving Time in the fall signifies the days getting much shorter, just because the way the earth is on its axis, this can't be changed with adjusting the clock. According to The Columbian, "Reduced sunlight can cause mood and sleep problems for many people, even if they're not prone to seasonal affective disorder." With the days getting dark around four o'clock in the afternoon, it doesn't take long for some people's moods to start to wane along with the sunlight.

Michael Rothenfluch, staff psychiatrist at Vancouver-based PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, said that many people think you can't get the sunlight that will help boost your mood during the winter months, but this is not true. Just a 30-minute walk on a gloomy day can do wonders. There's enough sunlight coming through those clouds to do the trick, even if it is drizzling out, reports Rothenfluch.

According to ABC News, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time. Clocks are set back an hour on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at 2 a.m. for everyone else.

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