None of this matters to me, but it might matter to those of you with kids…or with circadian rhythms.<\/p>\n
Did you know your body is programmed to wake up with the sun and go to sleep when it\u2019s dark? I know this feels like a \u201cno derp\u201d moment, but that\u2019s what we\u2019re facing as a country.<\/p>\n
None of this matters to me. I get up at 2 a.m. and go to bed at 7 p.m. I don\u2019t get to live with the benefit of the sun, but if you do, you may be about to get a rude awakening.<\/p>\n
I blame all of this on the laziness of the general populace and the general lack of any real answers to the issues we all face these days. Oh, and we’re not even making the best choice, because experts say it would be better to keep standard time if we’re sticking with one.<\/p>\n
What Permanent Daylight Saving Time Would Mean in Lubbock<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s get to it. The U.S. House has passed a bill to keep daylight saving time in effect permanently. No more changing the clocks again. It still has to get through the Senate and be signed into law, but the idea is very much alive.<\/p>\n
Again, this benefits me, but you\u2019re probably not going to like it, especially if you have kids.<\/p>\n
Imagine your kids still being in the dark in December and January until around 8:50 in the morning here in Lubbock. Our latest winter sunrise is currently around 7:52 a.m. Permanent daylight saving time would push that to around 8:52 a.m.<\/p>\n
Lubbock ISD elementary schools start at 7:45 a.m. That means elementary students could already be in class for more than an hour before the sun comes up. Middle school starts at 8:20 a.m., so those students would also be arriving and starting school in the dark.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t even count the time spent walking to school, waiting for buses or crossing busy Lubbock streets.<\/p>\n
For a state that cares about kids, we seem to have no problem with the idea of letting them mill around in the dark or walk through crosswalks when it\u2019s pitch black outside.<\/p>\n
Some people say, \u201cAdjustments will be made.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, here\u2019s a question for you. Will adjustments be made at your job or your household if the school hours change? Will your boss let you come in later? Will daycare change its hours? Will sports practices, bus routes and everything else move too?<\/p>\n
And how are you going to like getting up at 6 a.m. when your body is telling you it\u2019s 5 a.m. and there are still nearly three hours until sunrise?<\/p>\n
Your body doesn\u2019t care what Congress says the clock should read. Morning sunlight is one of the things that tells your brain it\u2019s time to wake up. Permanent daylight saving time means less morning light during the darkest part of the year.<\/p>\n
The laziness of folks who rarely even have to adjust their clocks themselves got us here after having a smart solution for so long. Most of our phones, computers and appliances change automatically now, but somehow this has become a giant problem that Congress must solve.<\/p>\n