Column: Give Us Daylight Saving Day

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This really is a lovely time of the year.

The blossoms are out, wee lambs are frolicking around fields and there’s a real feel of new beginnings in the air. 

Spring has sprung and now as an added bonus, we have an extra hour of daylight to enjoy the warmer temperatures.  But it comes at a cost. 

On Monday, Tuesday and even now we had to deal with a country full of grumpy zombies who have no idea what time, day or even year it is.  Sure it’s great having that extra hour but it has to come from somewhere and it is stolen from our sleep! 

There’s been a call from some that the Monday following the clock change should be a public holiday and I wholeheartedly agree.  I realise we have Sunday to supposedly adjust but that is just not enough time. 

The Sunday of Daylight Saving is an odd day where we can’t quite work out when we’re supposed to eat our tea and we lie awake at night with our body questioning why we are in bed when the sun has only just gone down? 

This creates mayhem on the Monday; kids seem unable to drag themselves out of bed at a time they consider to still be the middle of the night and we adults just can’t deal with adulting when we’ve had a precious hour of sleep pinched from us. 

The effects of this sleep deprivation can linger for days or even weeks, no doubt causing a huge financial cost to companies all the over the country, not to mention the danger of driving in such a state.  It really would be best for everyone to just have a day off to recuperate. 

Korea has a day to celebrate its alphabet.  Turkmenistan has a day off to celebrate melons.  Countries like India and the Phillipines have over 20 holidays every year!  In New Zealand we only have 11 so there’s plenty of room for Daylight Saving Day. 

Sorry to go on about this but I’m a little grumpy.  BECAUSE I’M TIRED!  Ah well. 

Aside from the extra hour of daylight, there is one other good thing about the clocks going forward an hour; the time in my car is once again correct and will remain so for the next six months. 

-Sarah