Daylight Saving Mess You Up? Today Is National Napping Day

Observed every Spring the day after the time is moved ahead one hour, National Napping Day was created to call attention to the health and safety benefits of napping. Short naps, as little as 10 minutes or so, used to combat mid-day fatigue have been shown to improve energy, alertness, and productivity.

Official estimates also claim that the average American loses 40 minutes of sleep when the clocks move ahead every Spring. That means that the Monday rush hour dumps millions of 9-5 commuters potentially more groggy and cross-eyed than usual out onto America's highways. As most OTR truck drivers have a typically semi-haphazard sleep schedule, anyways, other drivers present an even bigger danger, in that regard.

Originally conceived as a way to conserve energy and resources, and save money, Daylight Saving Time can trace its origins back to Benjamin Franklin, and gained widespread popularity during WWI. The U.S. adopted the practice of moving the time ahead one hour in the Spring, and back an hour in the Fall.

Daylight Saving's effect on energy savings in the 21st century is still being hotly debated, but retailers generally love it because the numbers show that the more daylight hours, the more people go out and spend money. In fact, gasoline consumption actually goes up as a result.

Since making a push to start daylight saving a month earlier in 1986, the Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing says that the industry has added an estimated $1 billion in sales, annually, since then.

Every year, twice a year, there is a back-and-forth on the necessity of keeping Daylight Saving Time, with impassioned arguments on both sides. As it doesn't appear that the abolitionists have any clear momentum getting it scrapped, we would really consider supporting a petition to declare the day after The Spring Ahead as a National holiday, to be observed by the average person spending at least another 2 mandatory hours in bed.

Until that happens, do yourself and everyone around you a favor and get some extra rest when you need it.

Daylight Saving Time: Why Does It Exist? (It’s Not for Farming)

Wikipedia - Daylight saving time