Daylight Savings Time and the Happy Accident

Sometimes there are happy accidents. Last week was one of those times.

My partner and I took a vacation last week - the first real vacation in years that didn't center around a family activity. This was a chance to move outside of the usual circles in life. There was no agenda except to enjoy the coast and head south.

It seemed that grey weather followed us. No sunburns. No glare from the sun either while driving. Spring was still barely emerging from a very hard winter.

This year, spring forward happened over our vacation weekend. Our elected officials seem bent on using Daylight Savings Time throughout more and more of the year. It seems so early to go to DST in mid-March! We had a very gentle adjustment as we slept in to accomodate to the time change.

Our little grandson seems to have more difficulty. I kept thinking: wait until he starts school. Memories of children acting a little grouchier and groggier during those bi-annual time shifts remain clear in my mind.

An aunt and uncle, long gone now, used to ignore the time change. They lived their lives on their farm firmly planted in the rising and setting of the sun. Sure, they worked around others' lives and schedules knowing about Daylight Savings Time. However, they were always home for their usual mealtime and bedtime.

Having worked at the National Institutes of Mental Health in 1979 in a research department called Brain Evolution and Behavior, I learned of the importance of circadium rhythms, sleep patterns, and other subtle biochemical patterns that interplay with our environment. I have often wondered what Daylight Savings Time means for people with sensitive responses to change?

The director of the agency never adopted Daylight Savings Time patterns and came in at 7:30 a.m. in the winter and 8:30 a.m. in the summer. His staff did not have the same option. I often wondered why. Maybe our rural family was on to something.

With our vacation accidentally centered around the time change, we got to adjust our sleep patterns a little more gently this week. My hope is that everyone gets the opportunity to adjust to this artificial construct and give themselves a wide berth for more naps and snuggling. What an opportunity for compassionate care for yourself and others.