Positive parts of Daylight Savings Time aren’t worth losing our precious sleep

“Spring forward” sounds so chipper and hopeful, doesn’t it?

Not to me. The fact is that the “spring forward” part of Daylight Savings Time is a pain in the neck with effects that ranges from deadly to just annoying, and I’m not saying that just because I’m writing this half-asleep, well before daylight on a Monday morning, and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

I don’t think I’m the only one who’s bothered by this.

The time change really messes some folks up. Studies show that the number of serious heart attacks jumps by 6 to 10 percent on the first three workdays after the time change, and the number of traffic accidents spikes on the Monday after the clocks move for- ward. Even suicides increase in the first week after the time change.

And that’s just the adults. Just an hour of sleep deprivation really shows up in our kids’ behavior -- they’re more cranky and moody (like we’re not) and it may take them a few days to quit snarling and return to their normal sweet selves.

With teenagers, of course, it’s worse. Studies show that teens’ natural circadian rhythms don’t allow them to sleep until 11 p.m. and scientists say they shouldn’t be expected to be alert in school before 9 a.m. Teachers know what I mean, and God help you survive this week. It may be April before teens become bearable again, although they still manage to communicate by sighing, rolling their eyes and slamming doors.

What’s worse is that so-called sleep experts say we should cut back on caffeine this week to help us deal with the time change. Are they kidding? If any pencil-neck, clipboard-toting scientist tried to separate me from my precious, lifegiving coffee right now, I’d “spring forward” and give them a wake-up call upside the head. Then I’d pour another cup. Is nothing sacred?

I suppose there are some positive sides to this time change. After a day or two, I’ve noticed, I begin to feel virtuous about rising so long before daylight, and I also realize how much I have time after work to do yard work. In fact, I tend to work a lot later after the time change because 5 p.m. seems to come in the middle of the afternoon and I feel guilty to knock off so early. Come to think of it, that’s not all that positive, is it?

But the whole idea of Daylight Savings Time was originally to save energy, right? Well, based on a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy, DST does indeed reduce the nation’s power consumption, but only by a tiny amount. Even with Extended DST, the results of energy conservation showed that morning power usage increased by roughly 2 percent, while evening power usage dropped by 1 percent.

That’s not worth losing sleep over, is it?