The Time Change Effect

We just adjusted our clocks this past weekend to end daylight savings time and return to standard time. Did you notice?

I remember when I was kid when the time changed, we would wake up that Sunday and spend some time (pun intended) to reset our clocks: the alarm clocks, the kitchen clock, the living room clock, the VCR clocks, the microwave oven clock, the stove clock and all our watches. It was quite a feat to change all of them. In some cases, we'd have to dig up instructions on how to change the time on a particular device.

Nowadays, it's noticeably different. Yesterday morning I changed 2 clocks: the clock in the living room and the clock on the stove. I haven't changed the one in the car yet - I need to find those instructions first.

Most of our devices update the time automatically. Our laptops, tablets and cell phones update the time from the internet.  Even our cordless handsets get the time updated from our Vonage phone adapter. I don't wear a watch on a regular basis and my alarm clock is my cell phone.

Since we gained an hour of time, I got an extra hour of sleep and today, I'm not as tired as I usually am, so the extra hour did me good, which means I wasn't physically effected by the change. Unlike when daylight savings time starts and we lose an hour. Losing that hour is like jet lag, it takes a couple of days to acclimate.

My wife didn't realize that the time had changed until today. Because I changed the 2 clocks before she woke up Sunday morning, she had no indication of the change. It made me wonder if someone had no clocks that needed manual adjustment, would they notice that the time changed?

It also makes me wonder why we need the time change at all? I;m sure there was a good reason for it when it was implemented, but does it still make sense?

I guess that is something I can ponder as I change the clock in our vehicle. Now, how do you change the clock in a 2004 Jeep Liberty? Time to find the owner's manual ...