A Gentle Reminder: Daylight Saving Time [Finally] Ends

You can almost set a clock when COVID-19 invited itself into North Texas. It was the week that Daylight Saving Time kicked into place on Sunday, March 8. In addition to losing an hour of sleep, folks had to adjust to a dramatically different way of living and working.

While the virus continues to be as friendly as the headless horseman, there is some good news coming this Sunday. At the stroke of 2 a.m. that lost hour will be returned to North Texans when Daylight Saving Time ends.

This change means the sunrise and sunset will seem to be an hour earlier on Sunday than it was the day before.

But Daylight Saving Time isn’t all that popular. Not everybody wants to continue with the juggling of times.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is one of ‘em. It reports that there is “evidence of increased risks of motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular events and mood disturbances following the annual ‘spring forward’ to daylight saving time.”

According to Mayo Clinic (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) pulmonology, sleep medicine and critical care specialist/AASM Public Safety Committee Vice Chair Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, “Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle. Daylight saving time results in more darkness in the morning and more light in the evening, disrupting the body’s natural rhythm.”

It’s also a real health issue for diabetics. While those who rely on insulin pumps sometimes forget to reset the clock on their device, others who use multiple daily injections must calculate how much and when insulin is administered.

So, while it will be nice to get that extra hour back, it will require some adjustments, both physically and mentally. Take it easy and realize that you’ve got four months before Daylight Saving Times starts up again on Sunday, March 14, and you’ll have to give back that hour.