Earlier studies I've done on the pineal gland and how light affects the hypothalamus made me start to wonder about how beneficial Daylight Saving Time really is to our bodies, especially since this was the weekend that we moved our clocks forward... and I'm feeling it!

First, I decided to see what I could learn from other homeschoolers:

• http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/seekingtheoldpaths/224833/ -- why DST is hard on us
• http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/boysrus/ -- information about DST
• http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/betcsu/229065/ -- the proper spelling & pronunciation of DST (I didn't know this one!)
• http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hippiechyck/38856/ -- Did you know this was all Benjamin Franklin's idea?
• http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ClassicalAstronomy/Signs%2Band%2BSeasons/ -- A look at astronomy to see how DST is related to the sun

• http://www.jcircadianrhythms.com/content/4/1/1 -- DST has a negative effect on the circadian rhythms of those who sleep less than 8 hours per night or who stay up late in the evening.
• http://www.slate.com/id/2177142/ -- our morning wake times are tied to sunrise only in the winter.  When DST arrives in the spring, our circadian rhythms are disrupted until fall's time change, when they are magically back on track again. 
• http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6793/8/3 -- if you like the scientific explanation, this article is great.  Its basic premise is that DST really does affect our moods and it has a greater affect on those of us who already have difficulty with our circadian rhythms.

• Go to bed earlier!  Try to go to bed when the sun goes down.  (I have no idea how to do this in real life, especially when we have children and enjoy our hour or two of "adult time" in the evening -- but it's a goal.  Maybe I should try for adult time first thing in the morning?)
• Get at least 8 hours of sleep at night.  If I went to bed when the sun went down -- say, at 9:30 at the peak of summer -- I could get up at 5:30 and still get 8 hours of sleep.  I could even "sleep in"!  So God provides for us to get 8 hours of sleep on the shortest days of the year.  I wonder what He intends for us to get in the middle of winter???  Maybe that cold air is hard on our bodies and we need more sleep?  Interesting. 
  
• Dr. Mercola has an interesting article:  http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/27/sleep_cancer.htm

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Mar. 10, 2008 - Daylight "Saving"

Posted by Anna

I read a book on Daylight Saving, entitled, "Spring Forward, the annual madness of daylight saving." I highly recommend it.

Basically, the practice of daylight saving started in the 1920's so that regular working people could go out and spend money in the evenings to "stimulate the economy." The government sold it as "leisure time", to play golf or see baseball games. This was before high-powered stadium lighting. About a year ago, congress moved the dates again to help the economy. *Eye-rolling and sigh*

My mother remembers an immigrant Italian family in rural PA who simply went to sleep after nightfall in the winter because they did not have electricity in their farmhouse. They got about 11-12 hours of sleep! They were also some of the healthiest people in the area.

More than you ever thought you'd like to know. :)

~Anna
Veiled Glory blog

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