Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…
Time for my biannual rant about DST. This time I’ll highlight the excellent essay Daylight Saving Time Is Terrible by Allison Schrager from The Atlantic. Her scheme basically collapses the four US time zones into two, with NO adjustment for Daylight Saving. (Yea!)
For me the the spring change is worse. It takes me more than a week to recover homeostasis. In the fall it mostly prevents me from starting my day with the sun.
Daylight Saving Time has to be one of the dumbest social conventions of all time! It’s just a bad idea that should be abolished!! DST doesn’t save energy, negatively impacts the health of millions, and robs me of an extra hour of daylight every morning!
I thought I’d review some recent evidence here. I’ve added emphasis to the most important bits. Decide for yourself!
Changing to daylight saving time cuts into sleep and increases workplace injuries. Barnes CM, Wagner DT.
J Appl Psychol. 2009 Sep;94(5):1305-17. doi: 10.1037/a0015320.
The authors examine the differential influence of time changes associated with Daylight Saving Time on sleep quantity and associated workplace injuries. In Study 1, the authors used a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health database of mining injuries for the years 1983-2006, and they found that in comparison with other days, on Mondays directly following the switch to Daylight Saving Time-in which 1 hr is lost-workers sustain more workplace injuries and injuries of greater severity. In Study 2, the authors used a Bureau of Labor Statistics database of time use for the years 2003-2006, and they found indirect evidence for the mediating role of sleep in the Daylight Saving Time-injuries relationship, showing that on Mondays directly following the switch to Daylight Saving Time, workers sleep on average 40 min less than on other days. On Mondays directly following the switch to Standard Time-in which 1 hr is gained-there are no significant differences in sleep, injury quantity, or injury severity.
Daylight saving time shifts and incidence of acute myocardial infarction–Swedish Register of Information and Knowledge About Swedish Heart Intensive Care Admissions (RIKS-HIA).
Janszky I, Ahnve S, Ljung R, Mukamal KJ, Gautam S, Wallentin L, Stenestrand U.
Sleep Med. 2012 Mar;13(3):237-42. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2011.07.019. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
Our data suggest that even modest sleep deprivation and disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle might increase the risk of AMI across the population. Confirmation of subgroups at higher risk may suggest preventative strategies to mitigate this risk.
Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment.
Wagner DT, Barnes CM, Lim VK, Ferris DL.
J Appl Psychol. 2012 Sep;97(5):1068-76. doi: 10.1037/a0027557. Epub 2012 Feb 27.
The Internet is a powerful tool that has changed the way people work. However, the ubiquity of the Internet has led to a new workplace threat to productivity-cyberloafing. Building on the ego depletion model of self-regulation, we examine how lost and low-quality sleep influence employee cyberloafing behaviors and how individual differences in conscientiousness moderate these effects. We also demonstrate that the shift to Daylight Saving Time (DST) results in a dramatic increase in cyberloafing behavior at the national level. We first tested the DST-cyberloafing relation through a national quasi-experiment, then directly tested the relation between sleep and cyberloafing in a closely controlled laboratory setting. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory, practice, and future research.
The human circadian clock’s seasonal adjustment is disrupted by daylight saving time. Kantermann T, Juda M, Merrow M, Roenneberg T.
Curr Biol. 2007 Nov 20;17(22):1996-2000. Epub 2007 Oct 25.
A quarter of the world’s population is subjected to a 1 hr time change twice a year (daylight saving time, DST). This reflects a change in social clocks, not environmental ones (e.g., dawn). The impact of DST is poorly understood. Circadian clocks use daylight to synchronize (entrain) to the organism’s environment. Entrainment is so exact that humans adjust to the east-west progression of dawn within a given time zone. In a large survey (n = 55,000), we show that the timing of sleep on free days follows the seasonal progression of dawn under standard time, but not under DST. In a second study, we analyzed the timing of sleep and activity for 8 weeks around each DST transition in 50 subjects who were chronotyped (analyzed for their individual phase of entrainment). Both parameters readily adjust to the release from DST in autumn but the timing of activity does not adjust to the DST imposition in spring, especially in late chronotypes. Our data indicate that the human circadian system does not adjust to DST and that its seasonal adaptation to the changing photoperiods is disrupted by the introduction of summer time. This disruption may extend to other aspects of seasonal biology in humans.
Social jetlag and obesity.
Roenneberg T, Allebrandt KV, Merrow M, Vetter C.
Curr Biol. 2012 May 22;22(10):939-43. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.038. Epub 2012 May 10.
Obesity has reached crisis proportions in industrialized societies. Many factors converge to yield increased body mass index (BMI). Among these is sleep duration. The circadian clock controls sleep timing through the process of entrainment. Chronotype describes individual differences in sleep timing, and it is determined by genetic background, age, sex, and environment (e.g., light exposure). Social jetlag quantifies the discrepancy that often arises between circadian and social clocks, which results in chronic sleep loss. The circadian clock also regulates energy homeostasis, and its disruption-as with social jetlag-may contribute to weight-related pathologies. Here, we report the results from a large-scale epidemiological study, showing that, beyond sleep duration, social jetlag is associated with increased BMI. Our results demonstrate that living “against the clock” may be a factor contributing to the epidemic of obesity. This is of key importance in pending discussions on the implementation of Daylight Saving Time and on work or school times, which all contribute to the amount of social jetlag accrued by an individual. Our data suggest that improving the correspondence between biological and social clocks will contribute to the management of obesity.
I recently acquired a kayak and have been experimenting with ways to carry it on the roof of my Prius. I’ve had lots of experience with canoes, which you can flip over on your shoulders (portage position) and place them on top of the car from that stance. With a sit-on-top kayak there’s no place for your head to go. I was stuck looking for a way to get the kayak on top of the care by myself. Then I hit on the idea outlined below.
A Note of Caution! Carrying a large object on top of a car is potentially dangerous. These instructions are intended as a guide only. It is up to you to ensure that your specific application is safe! If in doubt get someone with more experience to help you.
You will need a standard set of kayak pads, 14-16 inches wide as shown below. I bought mine online for less than $15. Make sure the pads are clean and free from small grains of sand. You may also wish to temporarily place a rag or other barrier to protect your car’s finish. Success depends on the kayak hull sliding over these pads. A little dish soap might help if there is too much friction.
If you haven’t already, remove everything you can from the boat. You want it to be as light as possible and avoid items that will blow in the wind.
Place the pads and kayak as shown here. Notice I started on the side of the roof, not the center. You could start in the center if your arms are long enough and you avoid the rear wiper and antenna mount. The side seemed easier to me.
Lift the end of the kayak onto the rear pad. With a Prius, the hull may rest partially on the spoiler. This is okay as long as you tilt the boat completely onto the pad before you do any sliding.
Lift the back end of the kayak and slide the boat forward on the rear pad. Then lift higher and slide it forward on the forward pad until it balances easily on the roof as show here.
Step 4
Move the rear pad up to the front and continue to slide the boat forward to the final position. You can then “walk” the ends toward the middle, fine tune the pad placement and tie it down. The hull should be nearly horizontal when you are finished. Be sure there is at least an inch of clearance between the hull and the roof.
Simply reverse these steps to get the boat down when you arrive at your destination.
This the standard technique using rope to tie down any sort canoe or kayak on the roof of a car. If you have straps, the details will be different but you must ensure that the boat is secure at all four points (forward, aft, left and right)!
Larger cars often have metal eyes underneath that were used to secure the car during shipping. These are excellent tie down points when they are available. Larger cars have four. Some have two in the front and only one in the back. The Prius for some reason has only one left rear tie down eye. Most of the undercarriage is covered by plastic panels to minimize drag. Whatever the configuration you must find four secure (metal!) tie down points before proceeding.
With the Prius it is necessary to use metal “S” hooks for three of the four tie down points. There is no easy way for me to photograph these points, and they probably vary somewhat from one model year to another. You will need to get down on the ground and inspect the underside of your car for attachment points. Do not attach to anything plastic!
Here are the lines I use (from left to right): side line (through the rear doors), front cheater hook, front line with hook, rear line with hook…
Start by attaching the three hooks to their respective tie down points. The cheater line acts as a pulley for the longer line as show here.
You must be comfortable tying a few basic knots such as the Bowline and Taut-Line Hitch. I use the Butterfly Loop (below) for mid-rope attachments. There are several alternatives for all of these, so use the knots you know well and trust!
The front and back should have an inverted “V” configuration. Note that the rope in this example is coming up from the hook on the right, through a steel eyelet on the bow, down to the cheater loop, back through the eyelet, and is tied with tensioning knots near the top right.
The rear may have less of a “V” depending on the specifics of your situation. Again, the rope is passed through a steel eyelet, which is out of view in this photo.
I like to use a mid-rope loop knot to create a mechanical advantage for tightening up the rig. Shown here the rope doubles back through a Butterfly Loop to a Taut-Line Hitch above. You can adjust the Taut-Line as needed to keep the lines tight. Gather up any loose ends that may flap in the breeze as you’re driving.
Finally you should add the side rope(s), which on a small car will be a single line passing through the rear doors. With a canoe this should be attached to the thwart (or other robust fitting). With my particular kayak it made sense to thread the rope through the scuppers. Tighten all the lines one last time and you’re done!
I have taken this rig on the road twice and it seems very stable. You should plan on stopping at least once along the way to check the lines and add tension if needed. Enjoy your trip!
If one is good, why not try two! This rig worked remarkably well for my recent trip to the Everglades. Note that the boats are not tied together, they are independently tied as outlined above. I think this adds strength and stability. And yes, I got them both up and down by myself!
