Since the time change, I’ve found myself a bit sluggish this week. It’s funny how losing one hour can screw-up your internal body chemistry. It probably also didn’t help that my wife had some early morning meetings that got me out of bed outside of the normal 6 a.m. routine. In addition, I’m experiencing some basketball depression called “March Sadness” since my team is out of the tournament before it even starts. This has compounded my low energy levels. Today, was the first day I could sleep in an extra hour, but it stretched into two, resorting back to the familiarity of pre-clock-change. I’m much in favor of eliminating Daylight Saving (not Savings) Time that I refer to as “Clock Shock.”

Our pets don’t know the time has changed. Their internal clocks are still an hour behind the updated settings. They are waking me up and asking for food an hour before what my watch says. It’s just another sleep disturbance that leaves me ready for a mid-afternoon nap. Granted, it’s great when we get that hour back, but it seems silly to make these adjustments twice every year. Contrary to popular belief, it was not “early to bed early to rise” Benjamin Franklin who originated the idea, but rather Englishman William Willett in the early 1900’s. The Germans were apparently the first to mess with the clocks back in 1916 to conserve electricity during WWI. It was implemented in the U.S. two years later, and returned in WWII, but not because of the agricultural industry as many believe. In 1966 the Uniform Time Act took steps to standardize clock adjustments across all states, although not everyone springs forward and falls backs. Ironically, it has also been determined that with the advent of air conditioning, its original intent of energy conservation is no longer a significant factor. Modern Times call for Modern Measures!

I was just starting to enjoy the sunrise every morning as part of my run. It will now be another few weeks before I will no longer have to carry a flashlight. It’s still cold and dark when I hit the streets, even as spring officially arrives. Next week I’ll be making more adjustments in my routine, as we lose a whole day traveling to Bangkok. Just like time change, I will get it back on the way home. I can only imagine how an entire day as opposed to a single hour will affect my internal clock. Plus, there will be a swing of nearly 50 degrees in temperature during my morning runs over there as opposed to here in Portland. It will be a high of 98 degrees when we arrive. Fortunately, I will have a digital watch and phone to keep track of the time and temperature as we travel from zone to zone, but I’m sure there will still be “Clock Shock”