Mother Nature insists we use standard time year-around

Any day now, the Senate may get around to voting for making daylight saving time our year-around reference for living our lives. That would be a huge mistake in many ways, and constituents need to let their senators know their thoughts as quickly as possible (or send this column to them with a personal signed note). Herewith some facts for you to take into account before putting your fingertips to the keyboard or your pen to paper. Everyone should have a mimosa | Marlene Condon Consider how hot the Earth has become, thanks to climate change. On the day I am writing this, the weather forecast is calling for a high temperature of 96 degrees today and 99 degrees tomorrow. In fact, temps in the 90s have been the norm this year, and who's responsible for so many hot days? People. The burning of fossil fuel (oil), the cutting down of trees and the manufacturing of goods to lead our lives all have contributed to this intense warming. As it's highly unlikely that these aforementioned activities are going to be altered anytime soon, it's critically important to consider the effect of daylight saving time versus standard time upon our activities. Marlene A. Condon As the coolest part of the day is early morning, that is the best time to, for example, get outside to work in the yard or to exercise in summer. At this time of year, both daylight saving and standard time allow an opportunity to get such things done early. But come the colder temperatures of fall and winter, the time standard you are on makes much more of a difference. Fall and winter under daylight saving means one can't begin most outdoor tasks or activities until the sun rises, which can be quite late. If you have a job, you won't be able to get outside to get your tasks done before work, and as we move into winter, you also can't get them done after work because the sun will be setting quite early by clock time. Additionally, daylight saving time forces children to wait for school buses in morning darkness, which makes their welfare more of a concern. Drivers can't see them as well if they enter or walk along the street. Perhaps hardest of all for adults who work and children is having to wake up in morning darkness to get ready to start the day when our natural inclination is to be sleeping until the sun is up. In summer, when it's natural for just about everyone to want to stay up as long as the sun is shining, it's more difficult to get the sleep our bodies require to function properly and healthfully. People who don't get their required number of hours (seven to nine) of sleep tend to live less long than those who do. Consider an article at ScienceDaily that was published on Jan. 10: 'Sleeping less than 7 hours could cut years off your life." 'Researchers analyzing nationwide data found that insufficient sleep was more closely tied to shorter life expectancy than diet, exercise, or loneliness. The connection was consistent year after year and across most U.S. states. The takeaway is simple but powerful: getting seven to nine hours of sleep may be one of the best things you can do for long-term health.' It's not unusual for very young children, who are so full of vim and vigor, to often resist taking a nap during the day, though when required to do so, they will usually fall asleep. Even as young adults, we are not fully aware of the importance of rest, so it's understandable we want to just stay awake as long as possible instead of getting our required sleep. And thus, the reason it is so terribly vital for our senators to vote in our best interest, which means to vote no for year-around daylight saving time that makes us lose vital sleep in summer. They should instead work to bring about a vote for maintaining standard time year-around, and do away with the nonsense of making their constituents change their clocks twice a year. Mother Nature's demand for standard time year-around is neither arbitrary nor capricious, which is to say it is not a stipulation lacking serious purpose, but rather one based upon absolute biological necessity.