Not Putting the Clocks Back This Weekend Would Improve Health, Says Expert

Science Daily ^ | Oct. 28, 2010 | Staff

[fightinJAG]

Not putting the clocks back this weekend but still putting them forward in the spring would be a simple and effective way to vastly improve our health and well-being, says an expert in the online British Medical Journal.

Mayer Hillman, Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Policy Studies Institute, argues that the effect of doing so would be to increase the number of 'accessible' daylight hours and thus encourage more outdoor activity throughout the year.

A major public health problem contributing to the incidence of chronic illnesses in the UK is caused by lack of exercise, writes Hillman. Adults are recommended to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity daily and children at least one hour. However, surveys have revealed a trend towards declining fitness and it has been predicted that over half the population will be clinically obese by 2050.

Although most people are aware of the benefits of taking up more physical activity -- a lowered risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and some cancers -- this routine features in few people's everyday lives, and the school curriculum allocates insufficient time for this, he adds.

Research shows that people feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the longer and brighter days of summer, whereas their mood tends to decline during the shorter and duller days of winter.

[CondiArmy]

AMEN!! I lived in a country without this ridiculous day light savings garbage. You don’t realize how this time changing crap harms your well being until you live in a place without day light savings which has natural seasonal changes.

[hinckley buzzard]

You could check with Ben Franklin, who first suggested it. In a world lit only by candles, an extra hour of sunlight during working hours makes a big difference.

[bigredkitty1]

Extra sleep is nothing but a good thing.

[Mike Darancette]

Not putting the clocks back this weekend but still putting them forward in the spring...

Keep that up for a few years and you'll be eating lunch in the dark.

[Revolting cat!]

Keep that up for a few years and you'll be eating lunch in the dark.

Here in Greenland we eat lunch in the dark 9 months a year.

[EBH]

I have a special lamp to deal with that....

[BenLurkin]

Changing the clocks twice a year is asinine.

It is long past time for the practice to end.

THAT would be change I could believe in.

[DGHoodini]

T’is...The fall back date is 2am Nov 7th, now.

[TXnMA]

So do I. It has been in storage ever since I moved back home to God's Country.

When you can work outdoors, go for walks -- even fish -- all winter long, that added sun exposure does what those lamps can't do...

[coon2000]

yea, I need the sleep. Fall back is good.

[cmj328]

Not putting the clocks back this weekend but still putting them forward in the spring

And "scientists" wonder why we question them about, e.g., their global warming theories.

[cynwoody]

Two items should be moved to the top of the legislative agenda next year:

Agreed.

1) Do away with the ban on incandescent light bulbs

Incandescent lighting: A great idea by a great American: Edison. Any improvements thereto should be evaluated strictly by the market, not the government.

2) Do away with Daylight Savings Time

DST: A bad idea by a great American: Franklin.

[Forgotten Amendments]

Let’s just declare it 2057. Then I’ll be 100!

[sickoflibs]

RE :”Research shows that people feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the longer and brighter days of summer, whereas their mood tends to decline during the shorter and duller days of winter”

A load of crap. The last Saturday of November is my favorite day of the year getting paid back that extra hour. It is the lowest day for heart attacks of the year, the highest day is the first day of daylight savings time losing the hour. Better to give us a extra hour every month (yes I know why this isn't possible.)

[calcowgirl]

Hey — don’t argue with Science!

Al Gore will be after you. LOL

[Gilbo_3]

well in all fairness, with the temps lowering, the crops dont need the extra hour of daylight.../s

[MaggieCarta]

RE :”Research shows that people feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the longer and brighter days of summer, whereas their mood tends to decline during the shorter and duller days of winter”

A load of crap....

No, actually, I think there are people who have true "seasonal affective disorders". The rest are faking it.

[PGR88]

You could check with Ben Franklin, who first suggested it. In a world lit only by candles, an extra hour of sunlight during working hours makes a big difference.

But that's the funny thing - there is no extra hour of daylight! Just wake up an hour earlier!

[sickoflibs]

Let me rephrase. Each spring the federal government forces us to wake up, go to work, start our day, all one hour earlier and tell us they are giving us a extra hour of daylight. (And it is all reversed each Fall when they give us that hour back.) Psst, they steal it from the morning.
In a way it is like Social Security, except in that case there will be no sunshine to give us back.

In any-case, enjoy your extra hour tonight all, unless you are working midnight shift tonight.

[Cheetahcat]

In any-case, enjoy your extra hour tonight all, unless you are working midnight shift tonight.”

Hey Thanks and the same back to you!