Earlier Bedtime in Fall/Winter?

[Rich Riddle]

Has anyone else noticed since the time change and the daylight ending soon that you are starting to fade off earlier in the evening?

[Mark Blatter]

I found that about the time I hit 50 I stated to fade off earlier in the evening. My kids now figure they better not call after 8:30 p.m. since I am an 'old man' and go to bed early.

[Bruce Page]

The change always gives my wife fits. It doesn't phase me at all.

[Matt Day]

Is that a surprise? The clocks were set back an hour, so the bedtime you were used to is an hour later than it is now.

[Julie Moriarty]

I found that about the time I hit 50 I stated to fade off earlier in the evening. My kids now figure they better not call after 8:30 p.m. since I am an 'old man' and go to bed early.

Why do you think they invented the Early Bird? ;)

[Rich Riddle]

Is that a surprise? The clocks were set back an hour, so the bedtime you were used to is an hour later than it is now.
Matt, my fading time is more than an hour worth of difference. I am dozing at six thirty.

[Matt Day]

gotcha. Must be early onset SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

[Brian Elfert]

I don't seem to go bed any earlier in the winter. I notice it is harder to get out of bed in the morning when it is pitch black outside.

The thing I don't like about it getting dark so darn early is there seems to be an expectation not to be making a lot of noise outside after dark. Not unusual in the peak of summer to have folks cutting grass at 9 pm at night since it is still light out. If I went out and cut grass at 9 pm right now I would probably have some upset neighbors. I'm sure part of it is kids going to bed earlier to get to school in the morning.

[Von Bickley]

I just wish they would set 1 time and leave it alone.

[Jerry Thompson]

The "Bladder Monkey" stays on schedule.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Retirement does have it's good sides.
I go to sleep most times when I'm sleepy and get up when I open my eyes (except for the times I have to visit w/the Bladder Monkey ;) ).

Shoot, most of the time I'm not even aware of what day of the week it is let alone what hour of the day it is. :D

[Mel Fulks]

Sleep is regulated by light. People worked from "can see to can't see". Went to bed at dark, slept a few hours and woke up, thought about stuff or got for some chore requiring little 'candle power'. And as the SNL Chech Brothers might say "we have slept enough it is time for sex now". The 'one big sleep' used now is mostly the result of electric lights. If people had a better understanding of their nature they would stop thinking about the hours of the day as movable by government decree. I'm always surprised when a friend has trouble sleeping and their doctor says nothing about avoiding bright light in the evening.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I just wish they would set 1 time and leave it alone.

I agree, Von. Since I enjoy evening light, I vote for leaving it at Daylight Savings Time.

[Curt Harms]

I agree, Von. Since I enjoy evening light, I vote for leaving it at Daylight Savings Time.


I suspect it has to do with among other things

1) Whether you live closer to the eastern or western edge of your time zone

2) Whether you're a chicken or owl. Chicken = early to bed early to rise. Owl = my brain doesn't come out of park 'til mid-morning or later.

[Brian Elfert]

It is already fully light out by 6 am in the summer as it is. The vast majority of us wouldn't benefit from it being light at 5 am, but we would notice it getting dark an hour earlier in the summer.

There have been plenty of summer nights when I am outside working until 9 pm as long as the bugs aren't an issue.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I agree, Von. Since I enjoy evening light, I vote for leaving it at Daylight Savings Time.I'm not sure on that one.

It's 8:15 AM right now & overcast. It's still really dark.
If it was an hour later - 9:15 AM - and this dark, that would be downright creepy. It would be like living in some D rated horror film....

[Brian Elfert]

I think what time it gets light is dependent on where you are in your time zone. It is pretty light here by 7 am or so right now. It is also pretty much dark by 5:30 pm. It looks like both sunrise and and sunset are about 10 to 15 minutes later in NE Ohio than here.

By 8:15 am here it is completely light right now although if it is really overcast it can be pretty dark. That can happen any time of day with enough clouds.

[Mel Fulks]

Heard some nuts on NPR recently pushing the idea of USA going to just two time zones. Kind of a 'nobody important lives very far from a coast' idea.

[Rich Riddle]

Mel,

Well I am nobody important and quickly arrive at the coast. Go figure.

[Yonak Hawkins]

It is already fully light out by 6 am in the summer as it is. The vast majority of us wouldn't benefit from it being light at 5 am, but we would notice it getting dark an hour earlier in the summer.

There have been plenty of summer nights when I am outside working until 9 pm as long as the bugs aren't an issue.

Brian, this would be the case if we went with Standard Time (winter time) all year long, right ?

[Matt Marsh]

My alarm goes off at 3:50 a.m. every work day. It doesn't matter what time of the year it is, I'm lucky to ever make it through Pat and Vanna!

[Kev Williams]

The obvious fix for this dilemma is simple: From standard time, split the difference and move all clocks ahead 1/2 hour.

But it wouldn't matter, that 1/2 hour would still pi** off 1/2 of everyone ;)

[Rich Riddle]

Kev,

I once worked in Western Kansas in multiple locations. Most were in the Central Time Zone but one place in Tribune, Kansas was in the Mountain Time Zone. That irritated me on a regular basis.

[Curt Harms]

Kev,

I once worked in Western Kansas in multiple locations. Most were in the Central Time Zone but one place in Tribune, Kansas was in the Mountain Time Zone. That irritated me on a regular basis.


Kinda like working at Hoover Dam.

consider heading East to Boulder City, home of the Hoover Dam.Aside from this being an amazing piece of infrastructure, you have the ability to stand not only in two states (Nevada and Arizona) at the same time but also two different time zones (Pacific and Mountain). This in itself is pretty cool and I can only imagine how difficult this would be to adjust to if you lived in Vegas and then drove to say Kingman, AZ on a daily basis.

[Kev Williams]

Nevada is Pacific time, Utah is Mountain...

120 miles from Salt Lake is everyone's favorite getaway, Wendover Nevada (and Utah), casinos and gambling! The time zone change was a pain, always having to add an hour... so some years ago someone got the bright idea to move the time zone 2 miles west of the city limits... ;)