Time to Fall Back
The time change this year is kicking my ass. There I said it.
Normally, I’m annoyed by this but I don’t feel any real physical impact from it. This year, though, whooo boy. I’ve been falling asleep on the couch by 9pm the last two nights and waking up at . . . wait for it . . . 4am the last two mornings. My sleep patterns changed pretty significantly when I started perimenopause a few years back and didn’t really improve when I fully hit menopause so any change now feels very . . . extra. In other words: Not Fun.
Also not fun . . . driving home in the dark. It’s not just the addition of headlights to my (pretty easy, let’s face it) commute, it’s also the feeling that leaving work in the dark means the day is over while I’m still at work. And, while I relish the excuse to change into lounge wear as soon as I get home, it makes it that much harder on the evenings when I have to go out to a meeting.
I saw a tweet (or something) on Instagram yesterday and it read: did we save it? did we save the daylight? (like a Super Hero saving the damsel in distress) and I couldn’t help but thinking how absurd this old tradition is in our modern times.
I know I’m in good company and I know many of you will commiserate which is why I feel only slightly guilty about writing such a negative blog post!
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It is an adjustment for sure. When we were kids, my dad got us up ten minutes earlier each day for a week to help us adjust in the Spring Forward part and it seemed to help. As someone who experiences Seasonal Affect Disorder, having DST year round would severely impact my quality of life. I’m old enough to remember the experiment with that and having it dark until after I got to school was awful. I think the real problem came when they extended DST. When the period was a few weeks shorter, the transition was less jarring due to sunrise and sunset times. Elect me, and I’ll fix this! Ha, ha!
I 100% agree. It used to be only the Spring ahead that bothered me. I’m definitely struggling. Falling asleep before 8:30 pm, and I am up at 5 am. My cat’s internal clock also seems to be off :-(. He’s begging for a dish refill much earlier in the morning.
The “Fall back” time has never bothered me too much, but whoa on the “Spring forward.” Having said that though, I am sleepy earlier in the evening now…but then I pretty much feel tired all the time. I’m with doing away with the switching the clocks. Pick one time and stay with it!
Steve and I are nodding along to all of this. We have felt all discombobulated about so many things… meal times most especially! I wish we’d just pick one and stay with that and stop the insanity of switching clocks!
Sharon Says So had an excellent analysis of the impacts of the time change on her IG yesterday, just FYI. I don’t care much one way or the other about the time change. It always takes a couple of days for me to adjust — and it takes JoJo even longer . . . It’s a pain, but adjust we do! AND . . . we need to be careful what we wish for in wishing we no longer changed the clocks. Here in Michigan, being on the very farthest Western edge of the Eastern time zone . . . if we stop setting the clock back in the fall, it wouldn’t be daylight until 9:30 in the morning for us. And . . . I really don’t want that. So I’m good with the hassle of changing my clocks (internal and external) a couple of times a year. 😉
I’m with Kat about feeling discombobulated about meal times. I’ve been hungry as soon as it gets dark ~5:15 but we don’t usually eat until 6:30 or 7:00. The thing I like best about this fall time change is the extra hour of sleep I got on Saturday night. Here’s hoping you adjust soon!
Carole, you are so consistently upbeat, it’s OK to have a downer now and then. This fall HAS been tough, and we’re feeling it too. It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s damp, there’s nothing funny on tv to jack up our spirits, the world near and far is full of scary and tragic menaces. Wow, I’m making myself feel worse just writing this! What is the cure? Maybe stay away from the news? No, can’t do that. Cuddle up with a cozy blanket and a cat, hot soup, hot chocolate, egg nog with rum, commiserate with friends online and KNIT!
I’m another one who used to love the ‘fall back’–an extra hour of sleep! And still plenty of Sunday! But since I no longer sleep well—ever—this one is hard (and last year was hard too. Damn you menopause). Even my trusty sleep meditation app did not send me off to sleepyland (and that ALWAYS does the trick). Hopefully we’ll all adjust soon!
My daughter was at school for play practice until 6 yesterday, and I had to pull out my glasses to drive to pick her up — and I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I wore them to drive! I know I’ll be used to it in a few days, but it is an adjustment.
I have no good short-term solution to this situation, and the “dark season” just seems… darker this year and interminably long. On top of the seasonal/clock adjustment, I’m dealing with a disrespectful young neighbor & his loud car that sometimes interrupts my sleep in the middle of the night. Not fun.
The fall-back time change doesn’t affect me, and the spring-ahead one is just a temporary annoyance, so I have a hard time empathizing with those for whom it is difficult. Maybe the difference is that some of us have stronger circadian rhythms than others; mine are piddly while yours are strong. In which case, god for you! You are a more reliable member of society than I am. Just my 2¢.
I’m the one person you know who likes standard time and I do wish we’d just choose one time and stick with it. Lucy is having a bit of time adjusting this week. She’s doing her “fall back” in 10-15 minute increments and I hope she’s settled by the weekend.
I hate this time change. The only time I ever remember liking it was when I was in my 20s and it meant an extra hour at the club.