I don’t know about you, but “fall back,” the day Daylight Saving Time ends, is my least favorite day of the year.
I already can’t wait for “spring forward.”
Here are a few reasons why:
1. It’s dark all the time.
This simply blows, especially if you have a 9 to 5 job.
Go to work in the morning? It’s still dark.
Get off work at night? It’s already dark again.
You literally experience no daylight for months (except on days off), and from the view of your office window if you’re lucky enough to have one.
This seems to make everyone more tired and lethargic. It feels much more natural to just stay in bed all the time if it’s always dark.
The tendency to hibernate comes out, and honestly, it just seems wrong to have to run errands or go out when it’s already pitch black at 5:30 pm, doesn’t it?
Grocery shopping in the dark just feels odd. I would argue most normal, daily tasks do as well.
Why not just crawl into bed instead?
2. It’s difficult to spend any time outdoors.
If it's literally dark for the entire day (barring time spent at work), it’s a lot harder to get up and go out for your daily run, walk or hike.
In the morning? Eh. It's much more appealing to sleep in than go out in the cold and dark and try to get some exercise.
In the evening, you’re already tired from work, and now you have to deal with the fact that no one can see you when you’re out and about on foot.
Obviously hiking is out, period. It’s not as if the trails are lit.
Of course people gain weight in the winter. Getting outside when it’s cold, wet and dark is miserable.
Even making yourself go to the gym sometimes seems impossible.
3. So much darkness? It’s depressing.
It’s a fact. You aren’t getting the mental boost natural light gives you, and that much-needed daily dose of Vitamin D? Forget about it.
Very few people draw energy from darkness. Most just find it saddening and motivation-crushing.
Even the most ambitious, chipper, determined person may experience a sense of apathy during the winter months. It’s unfortunately natural and normal, but it's also very frustrating.
4. Less sunlight = more cold.
Obviously. The sun is warming that specific portion of the earth for fewer hours each day. Therefore, it’s simply colder.
The only thing more depressing and tiring than darkness? Cold. The fact that the two come hand-in-hand is quite honestly the worst.
It’s hard to even drag yourself out of the house for fun occasions during this time. Not only does it look like sleepy-time outside, you have to get all dressed up and bundle up on top of it.
It’s a chore and a process, not to mention the fact that you most likely have to scrape off and warm up your car, too.
When it’s all said and done, it probably takes you about three times as long to leave your house.
I don’t know about you, but my least favorite thing during this time is having to get out of bed when it’s super dark outside and take a shower.
I just huddle in there, happy for the warmth of the water, but dreading getting out into the cold air waiting for me.
5. You always think it’s much later than it actually is.
No matter what, this happens every single year. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been through it before.
That one slight hour’s difference changes your internal clock, whether you like it or not.
For some, it makes things a little easier. You might naturally wake up earlier because the time has adjusted to an hour later and you’re still used to your old schedule.
For people like me, who work evening jobs, it’s the worst. For some reason, it usually feels about two hours later than it really is.
Don’t look at the time. It always feels like midnight when it’s still about 9 pm.
You just want to go to bed super early. It’s been dark for hours already. Why would you stay up?
