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Daylight Saving Time (DST) attempts to maximize the use of daylight by shifting summer time to one hour later. The idea is to have more daylight available during the time that most people are awake. We can take this idea further by changing our sleep schedules (as feasible) so that we sleep during the darkest hours of the day. The time of the year when we have the least amount of darkness is during the summer solstice; for those who sleep eight hours a day and live in an area that observes DST, that would mean sleeping between 9 pm and 5 am. Keeping this sleep schedule consistent year-round would provide better sleep, would help to make this approach habitual, and would maximize the benefits that DST offers. Now, some people object to such a schedule because 9 pm seems like a rather early hour to go to sleep, and 5 am likewise seems like a rather early hour to awaken. However, let's consider this: during standard time, midnight is the middle of the night. If we were to adjust our sleep schedule so that said midnight were right in the middle of our eight-hour block of sleep, we would be going to bed at 8 pm and awakening at 4 am, both of which are four hours away from midnight. DST “moves” daylight (as measured by the clock) in the direction of our social expectations for sleep-time; we can likewise move our social expectations to better match what makes sense given the availability of daylight. We create our social expectations by what we, as a society, tend to do; it is better for us to be proactive rather than reactive in this regard, establishing a more reasonable social expectation for sleep time rather than just following the less reasonable one that we now have. Other people object to such a sleep schedule by saying that they are a “night” person and not a “morning” person; however, such a statement only indicates that the person is more alert and energetic during the hours right before going to sleep, not that said alertness occurs during an absolute time of the day. Another thing that might influence this objection is our natural human tendency to want to live on a day slightly longer than 24 hours; as such, even when we keep a regular sleep schedule, we tend to go to bed when we would rather stay awake, and wake up when we would rather continue sleeping. When we follow these instincts, we tend to go to sleep later and later, and wake up later and later, which might make these people feel that they are a “night” person when it's really just our human tendency to want a longer day. But the thing is, because of work, school, or other social obligations, we end up keeping a 24-hour sleep/wake schedule, and so even “night” persons end up awakening at roughly the same time each day; as such, the particular block of hours of the day during which we sleep is independent of whether we are a “morning” person or a “night” person. Sleeping during the darkest part of the day allows us to make use of as much daylight as possible, which has economic, environmental, and health benefits; we thus need less artificial lighting, use less energy (and thus spend less money and burn less fuel), and make use of free, high-quality lighting that helps us to feel better (natural daylight is good for us) and helps us see our surroundings better (daylight provides better illumination for our streets and sidewalks than artificial lighting does). Not to mention that we sleep better in darkness, and thus we would enjoy better sleep during the hours right before waking up. We would be supporting, rather than fighting, our biological clock (the circadian rhythm). Keeping a consistent daily sleep schedule, even on the weekends, will also help us sleep better, which will give us more energy and alertness during the day. As such, with so much to gain, let us enjoy these benefits by setting our alarms to 5 am on a daily basis, as our commitments allow. As with developing any new habit, it will be a bit uncomfortable at first; but once we get used to it, we'll feel better overall. |