Saving Daylight??

It's that time of year again where we agree to live in a time warp and set our clocks ahead an hour. Now I really do love the spring and the summer, but I also really, really HATE having to change my clocks forward (and backward in the fall). Maybe I'm a wimp, but it takes my body a while to get used to the change and every  year I start to wonder what the point of it all is.

The original concept proposed by Benjamin Franklin was to allow ranchers and farmers more daylight to tend to their animals and crops. Other, more recent arguments state that both energy use and crime go down in the daylight. The information I read on these issues are all based on outdated studies and I, for one, would like to see a more recent study on the issue. Here's my point...

Other articles I read stated that crime actually increases around 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., when people are either at work or have gone out for the evening. My logic on the electricity issue is that with today's world of Internet connectivity, smart phones, tablets, and everywhere on the go we use electricity more than ever before, so are probably not really actually "saving" much of anything.

Here's some other interesting facts:

According to this article by the CBC (a Canadian news organization) on Daylight Saving Time, switching our clocks by an hour can lead to an increase in health risks, such as heart attacks, in the first few weeks of the time change. The Swedish study they quoted states "The most plausible explanation for our findings is the adverse effect of sleep deprivation on cardiovascular health,".

As for traffic safety, another issue brought up by proponents of Daylight Saving Time, the Canadian article quotes a study from researchers in Pittsburgh who found that the change back to Standard Time showed an increase in vehicle/pedestrian accidents (though the change to Daylight Time had fewer than normal).

Finally, the article states that those who suffer from sleep disorders have a very difficult time adjusting to the new time change. I don't think I have a sleep disorder other than just not being a morning person, but this is one thing I have in common with people who do.

Therefore I say let's eliminate the time change altogether. In this modern age, there are no longer enough benefits to outweigh both the health risks (physical and mental) and inconvenience of adjusting to a change of clock.

P. S.
In my research, I discovered an online petition to the U. S. Federal government to eliminate Daylight Saving time. If you are interested, you can find it here. If the Federal government doesn't eliminate Daylight Saving time, I hope that the bill introduced in Utah will at least mean that my state will opt out.

The Joy of Toddlers

I've said before that there is nothing more joyous than the sound of a giggling toddler (or baby) ... and nothing more sad than their tears. I love those precious weekend days when I wake up to my almost-two-year-old niece giggling at something she and her mother are playing. I also dread bed time on those days she gets too tired to sleep.

If, like me, you've never had children you are missing out on the joy they can bring to your household. Of course, they are also a lot of work ... I don't know how my sister does it. But my niece knows she is loved by her family, and she returns that love unconditionally.

Relaxing on a Saturday morning

Today, I was in my office trying to come up with something to write for this blog when I heard her out in the hall looking for me. When I came out, she took my hand and promptly marched me downstairs to play blocks with her. We spent several minutes playing with blocks, a toy laptop, balls, and whatever else she could think of before coming back upstairs - at which point she lay down on the couch with her pillow and blanket & had me read a book to her. As soon as she was done reading she pushed me off the couch.

There was also the time I was relaxing in front of the TV doing some crochet on an afghan (which I'll blog about later) when she wanted to count the balls of yarn or "help" me by taking the skein I was winding into the other room.

The point is that little children are precious and I, for one, am very grateful for the experience I've had with my niece. Someone that sweet and innocent needs to be cared for and loved with all your heart.