Daylight savings time?

[Basho]

It's that time of year again in the good ol USofA for daylight savings time. Ever since I can remember, this time of year brings about melancholy & i become enveloped in feelings of sadness. I know that it has to do with the decrease in daylight but the hour jump brings the onset of these feelings rather forcefully, compared the natural rhythm of a minute decrease of sunlight per day.

I've researched superficially & I'm not really buying the official reasons. Just curious if anyone else feels odd during daylight savings changes. Also interested in alternative theories that some of you might have. Just seems like such a ridiculous concept & if its an archaic method lacking any practical purpose, why continue with it? As far as I know Arizona is the only state that does not follow daylight savings. I wish that California & the rest of the country would get rid of daylight savings too.

Is it also just a coincidence that it occurs days before the election?

[Gillian]

I know for a fact that Hawai'i doesn't follow daylight savings either because my ex was involved with CFHT and we lived in Waimea for years. Also, Canada's daylight saving time was more in line with Britain for awhile and then it lined up with the U.S. so I no longer remember when to change the clocks and have to watch the calendar. It is only recently that we switched from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November to accommodate Hallowe'en.

As for the melancholdy and sadness, I don't know. For me, a sense of anticipation.

I am trying to heal my very exhausted adrenals and part of the process is getting a good night's sleep which is getting harder and harder to do with grids being something-or-othered at 0300h waking most of us up, and microwaves everywhere. I shut down most of my electronics by throwing switches on power bars. There is no WiFi and I do not own a cell phone. Also, I live with two dogs and two cats and I am constantly aware that they probably don't want to be bombarded by microwaves more than necessary -- well, I have heard that cats don't mind.

My point is that I understand that the sun has a lot to do with waking and falling asleep and I figure that it has a magnetic pull on the body that wakes us up. Please somebody correct me on this. Anyway, when healing adrenals, it is important to be asleep well before midnight, if possible. So whatever the clocks are doing, all I care about is sleeping around that midnight hour and ignoring that it moves with DST.

So now I go to bed at 2130 instead of 2230h as I do in summer. I have to say it is harder to fall asleep in summer when it is still light so if there were no DST I think I would have to hang black curtains in my bedroom.

And I welcome the shorter days. Yes, there is the threat of SAD. But I am presently reading The Ascension Mysteries and before that I read West with the Night about Beryl Markham and I knit and spin and I do not feel at all guilty that I am not gardening. And it really is a beautiful time of the year and winter has its beauty and there is the anticipation of the first crocuses and the robins returning to the bird feeder and the Asian barred doves and there is the hawk that hangs around. Then there is the moment when the pussy willow down the road begins to show silver in its buds.

It's Christmas I hate and would love to shut that mayhem down. One can't go into a store and find a common every day item because they have all been removed from the shelves and replaced with stuff for people to clutter their homes with. The young don't understand what Christmas was meant to be about. I don't think I really understand it either, but I think that those that revel in Christmas should attend a church service on the day. People laugh at me when I say that and I suggest that to be more authentic, they celebrate the Solstice instead which is what my family has been doing for decades because I decided that Jesus was not born on 25th December and it was a farce to think so. Solstice has much meaning and the days are beginning to get longer -- something to get excited about -- and there is an exchange of simple gifts and one can decorate with trees etc and feast and enjoy family and friends. My favourite thing about Christmas is the traditional music like the Messiah, The Shepherd read by Maitland on Christmas Eve, and then the CBC goes around to various forces bases and military folk wish their loved ones a happy Christmas and on the Day, because there is no need to slave in the kitchen, I enjoy quiet pensive time and the power usually goes out so I walk around the neighbourhood and all the neighbours are out walking because they cannot watch TV or cook dinner and then it really is quiet with no electricity.

[neutronstar]

Sadness that comes from lack of the sun can be helped by taking 2000 to 6000 mg of vitamin D a day. I learned about that last winter and it helped. I usually suffer from the winter blues but not last winter. Also increase your niacin intake as well.

[TargeT]

Sadness that comes from lack of the sun can be helped by taking 2000 to 6000 mg of vitamin D a day. I learned about that last winter and it helped. I usually suffer from the winter blues but not last winter. Also increase your niacin intake as well.

full spectrum light bulbs are very helpful as well, if your home; use one! (plus the light is just, better)

They also help you naturally produce Vit D. (hormone D? it's a weird one).

[ghostrider]

We are beings of light, naturally drawn to move around when the sun is up, and slow down when the sun sets ... always reaching for the light , the first thing People who have NDE expeirences say , I saw a bright light and moved towards it , i felt ovewhelming love, didnt want to come back, wanted to stay there for ever ... i think its silly to mess with time, no on works the farm anymore, they work the cell phone... the body gets off kilter trying to adjust to darkness coming sooner than expected ... 2 weeks later the body resets to the new environment ...

[earthdreamer]

D 3 is the correct vitamin for sunshine deficiency

[DeDukshyn]

... (hormone D? it's a weird one).

Yes, it is an oddball. A "vitamin" is any chemical compound (molecule) that the body requires to use for maintenance (essential), but cannot produce itself. Even though Vit D is produced in the skin, it needs the UV radiation to occur. One might argue that "sunlight" is the vitamin, but then it breaks the "chemical compound" part of that definition. I suppose one could classify it as "conditionally essential", given the ubiquitousness of sunlight in our daily lives; in outer space or underground long term habitat, I suppose then it becomes a true vitamin. - anyway, I didn't need to say any of that, and I'm sure no one cares, maybe I'm just bored ... :)

[DeDukshyn]

D 3 is the correct vitamin for sunshine deficiency

D2 is still somewhat effective, but the conversion of it to D3 is a very inefficient process. Good thing we have vegan D3 available these days (for vegans who used to have to resort to D2 for "D" supplementation).