Science says that “falling back” is actually the easier transition—your body likes gaining sleep. But for about a week, you’ll still feel like you’re driving a car with a sticky accelerator. Studies show a small uptick in car accidents and heart attacks in the spring when we lose an hour, but in the fall? You just get confused and walk into the wrong restroom. True story: last November, I walked into a coat closet thinking it was the kitchen. I stood there for ten seconds before I realized I was hugging a vacuum cleaner.
Finally, let’s address the existential part: Why do we still do this? Politicians keep proposing to end it, but we’re locked in a stale-mate of “which one do we keep?” Do we want bright mornings or bright evenings? The answer is always “more brunch sunlight,” which is why we keep changing. We are a species that cannot agree on pineapple pizza, but we universally decide to fudge time twice a year.
So, this weekend, set your clocks back one hour before bed on Saturday. Enjoy your extra sixty minutes of glorious, drooling sleep. And if you see your neighbor at 7 AM walking their confused dog in pajamas, just wave. You’re both part of the great, ridiculous, collective human circus that decided time is a pretzel we must untwist—twice a year—for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever.
