Before you hit the hay Saturday night make sure you've set all your clocks ahead one hour. Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. March 10, 2013.
(And for those who like to think way ahead, Daylight Saving Time ends this year on Nov. 2.)
We frame it as "springing ahead," mostly to make it easier to remember that clocks go forward in spring and back in the fall, but we all know that losing an hour of sleep takes a good week or two (or three) to adjust to.
Most people don't realize that DST is kind of optional. In the U.S., Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time.
So why do we torment ourselves?
According to timeanddate.com, Benjamin Franklin first suggested Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but modern DST was not proposed until 1895 when an entomologist from New Zealand, George Vernon Hudson, presented a proposal for a two-hour daylight saving shift to the Wellington Philosophical Society.
The conception of DST was mainly credited to an English builder, William Willett in 1905, when he presented the idea to advance the clock during the summer months. His proposal was published two years later and introduced to the House of Commons in February 1908.
The first Daylight Saving Bill was examined by a select committee but was never made into a law. It was not until World War I, in 1916, that DST was adopted and implemented by several countries in Europe who initially rejected the idea.
Tips to Help Your Body Clock Adjust
On Sunday (March 10)
- Get some vitamin D
Exposure to bright light first thing in the morning cues your body to stop emitting melatonin, a natural sleep hormone. Go for a brisk morning walk or at least sit on the deck where the sun will hit you for maximum effect.
As the week wears on:
- Do your best to avoid over-caffeinating to compensate
Instead, drink plenty of water with a splash of lemon or grapefruitseed oil; eat well – citrus fruits, apple slices, salads. Take a few 15 minute brisk walks during the day, especially if you find yourself feeling sluggish. and plan to get to bed earlier than your usual schedule at least for the first week after Daylight Saving.
- Power nap when possible.
- Eat well
Here is a list 11 snacks that boost your energy, from Fitnessmagazine.com, as you recuperate from the fallout from Daylight Saving Time.
