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Time change steals sleep
Time change steals
sleep
Daylight-saving time makes little difference in energy we use, an electric company spokesman said.
YOUNGSTOWN — In the early hours Sunday, people across the country will “spring” forward an hour in time.
Daylight-saving time, from 1986 to 2006, was the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. Starting in 2007, however, it’s been observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November — adding about a month to daylight time.
Americans will be setting their clocks ahead earlier than any time in history this year with the start of daylight time beginning Sunday.
What does this really mean to area residents in terms of energy savings and daily lifestyle?
An early goal of daylight-saving time was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting, which was a primary use of electricity.
Mark Durbin, Ohio Edison spokesman, said electricity is used for such a broad array of appliances and household items that any reduction in energy use during daylight time in the past has gone by the wayside.
Durbin said items such as air conditioning, plasma televisions, computers and video game systems are fairly common and in use whether there is sunlight outside or darkness.
“People are likely going to stay in and use those devices regardless of daylight-saving time instead of going outside and doing other things,” he said. “We have looked at the usage and the data and we really don’t see much of a difference [in energy use] at all.”
Most people, he said, may accept the springing forward and falling back associated with daylight-saving time but understand that it will have little affect on their energy costs.
People are aware of when daylight time goes into effect, but some feel that it has very little effect on their lives — other than an hour of lost sleep.
Marie Mariani of Fowler Township in Trumbull County knows it’s time to roll the clock ahead one hour this weekend. But like energy officials suggest, she is not expecting any huge savings on electricity costs. She is more interested in the fall-rolling-back aspect of daylight time.
“I actually like the fall when we fall back and can actually sleep an extra hour,” she said.
David Ballestrino of Youngstown also said sleep is a major factor for him in regard to daylight-saving time.
“It just makes me lose an hour of sleep,” he said.
Ballestrino, who formerly served in Iraq, said daylight time could sometimes be a little annoying when serving in a country that moves the clock at a different time than the United States. Calling home and other time-related issues, he said, would sometimes be thrown off.
Dave Fleet of Hermitage, Pa., said rolling the clock forward can be inconvenient for another reason: “It screws you up going to church on Sunday. You show up an hour late and just look stupid,” he said.
Most people sleep through the change in time, missing only an hour of sleep. Others, such as Patrice Adams, 26, a licensed practical nurse, are working when the clock rolls forward. She said it’s not a big deal going home an hour early.
“It’s like I work an hour less and that is fine by me,” she said. “Although I love my residents, I work 12 hours, and it’s nice to have the day shortened once in a while.”
Adams is also the mother of four children all under age 8. She said adjusting to an hour less of sleep can be difficult for the kids for a couple of days, but the difficulty for her comes in the fall when the clocks roll back — and the hour less of work becomes an hour more.
“I guess it just equals out,” she said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com