My excitement regarding the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) is one of them is a minority amongst my friends and family. My anticipation of falling back into Standard Time accelerates within the month of September and I begin to look to the calendar to see how long I must wait.
I realize few others feel my delight in darkness at 5 p.m., but I know there are teenagers everywhere who enjoy what they consider the extra hour of sleep.
History records the reason behind DST for people to get up earlier in the morning and have more daylight in the evening. Wikipedia said it was George Vernon Hudson, New Zealand, who first proposed the modern idea of DST in 1895, and many countries utilize the change of time consistently since the energy crisis of the 1970s. Advocates say it benefits on many levels, including retail sales, children in sporting activities after school, energy savings and simply being able to complete yard work at the end of the work day.
I will be the first to say my opposition to the time change is simply all in my head. There’s just something about waking up in the dark and preparing for my day, making me feel more productive. When I wake when the sun is up, I feel I’m not ahead of the game by not being ahead of the sun. At the end of the work day, upon leaving the office at 5 p.m., I get the notion the day is over and it’s time to put myself in low gear. Cooler temperatures are ahead, the sun is going to bed, and it’s time for peace. Slowing down in the twilight of the evening is a favorite time for me. In the fall and winter it’s the time I switch on a lamp and build a fire. The regularity of routine throughout a season can be, in my opinion, part of the anticipation of a joyful time.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Productivity and Standard Time