The Time Has Come to Fall Back

It’s time to move those clocks back and catch a well-deserved extra hour of sleep. Daylight Saving Time is officially coming to an end on Sunday November 4th, 2018 at 2:00 am. This means that all of us will have to remember to set our external clocks to a new hour which means that our internal clocks might take some time to catch up. Don’t forget though because you don’t want to be late to church or other Sunday actives.

Sunrise and sunset will be one hour earlier on November 4th, leaving more light in the morning. The event actually occurs when the sun makes its way over the equator. During this time the earth experiences an equal amount of daylight and darkness equating to about 12 hours on both sides. This equal daylight and darkness will lead us with days getting shorter and the nights getting longer eventually getting to the shortest day of the year in December.

Daylight Saving time actually exists due to several historical compilations. The effort first started with Benjamin Franklin back in 1784. He wrote a proposal to a local newspaper encouraging his fellow citizens to make the most use of daylight that they could. He felt that a time change would help in this effort. In 1907 William Willet also encouraged everyone to make better use in the winter months especially in crops and chores in his own writing.

The war efforts of World War One would also have significant influence on the effort to initiate Daylight Savings Time. During the time of the war the time change was being used as an opportunity for citizens to conserve fuel for the war effort. Congress would pass this through the Standard Time Act.

Today almost all of the continental United States participates in the time change twice a year. Although several states have decided to opt out of the change including Hawaii, Arizona, The United States Territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands and American Samoa Territories. They do no observe the time change at all.

So what about those of us who are affected by the time change? If you are looking to make the shift and transition easier on your body experts offer several tips to get you started on the right foot. First things first, no matter how tempting it is do not sleep in on Sunday morning after the time has changed or take a nap later in the day. This way you might be able to fall asleep at a normal time on Sunday night and feel more rested on Monday morning.

The key experts say is to establish a healthy, normal routine during the time change. Keep focused and active if you are in or out of the house closer to sunset. If you are out go ahead and take a walk and do some light activity. If you are inside of the house, keep plenty of lights on and maybe do some light house work. The most important tip is to stay active, exposed to light and get to bed on time. You will thank yourself for it and maybe not feel so groggy this week.