3 ms·

I am going to ask this again, as I never receive a satisfactory answer when this subject comes up. Isn't time all relative? Its just a number, which we adjust

by collyw 7y ago

I am going to ask this again, as I never receive a satisfactory answer when this subject comes up. Isn't time all relative? Its just a number, which we adjust by an hour twice a year. It takes us a couple of days to get used to it. Can't people just be more disciplined and go to bed an hour earlier if they need an hours extra sleep? That's effectively what we do in spring when the clocks change. I came to this conclusion travelling from Chile to Peru, going pretty much directly north. One country had daylight saving for summer the other didn't and on top of that there was an hour difference for time zone - so in total two hours difference. As I say, it took a couple of days to get used to it. Can anyone give me a decent rebuttal to this argument?

x3n0ph3n3 7y ago
No, not all time is relative and the presence of light has profound impacts on our biological circadian rhythm. Even DST has shown negative health impacts. [1] 1. https://www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-is-deadly-2018-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-is-dead...
- collyw 7y ago
  Ok, that's a fair point, but don't certain countries effectively rise a lot earlier than others? (Greenwich meantime for example passes through London and also through Spain, yet there is an hour difference in the time zone). Is there evidence that that affects these countries differently? Plus we have light bulbs in this day and age, so lighting is not affected by the sun in the same way that it used to be.
andyljones 7y ago
Physiologically there's no difficulty in pushing your circadian around. Heck, various studies have shown that in isolation people's clocks will drift by an hour or more a week. Culturally though, there is a preferred cycle, and it's some weighted average of the cycle of all the people you interact with. Moving from Chile to Peru and shifting your cycle 2hrs _to match the Peruvian clock_ isn't so bad, but if you shifted 2hrs the other way you'd find it a lot more painful. This is the problem with shifting school hours: not the hours themselves, but how they interact with everyone else's hours. Finally, there is a privileged circadian, and it's the Sun's. Free, global lighting is just too good to pass up on.
chadlavi 7y ago
> Can't people just be more disciplined and go to bed an hour earlier if they need an hours extra sleep? You ever met kids?

by collyw 7y ago

x3n0ph3n3 7y ago

No, not all time is relative and the presence of light has profound impacts on our biological circadian rhythm. Even DST has shown negative health impacts. [1] 1. https://www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-is-deadly-2018-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-is-dead...

collyw 7y ago
Ok, that's a fair point, but don't certain countries effectively rise a lot earlier than others? (Greenwich meantime for example passes through London and also through Spain, yet there is an hour difference in the time zone). Is there evidence that that affects these countries differently? Plus we have light bulbs in this day and age, so lighting is not affected by the sun in the same way that it used to be.

andyljones 7y ago

Physiologically there's no difficulty in pushing your circadian around. Heck, various studies have shown that in isolation people's clocks will drift by an hour or more a week. Culturally though, there is a preferred cycle, and it's some weighted average of the cycle of all the people you interact with. Moving from Chile to Peru and shifting your cycle 2hrs _to match the Peruvian clock_ isn't so bad, but if you shifted 2hrs the other way you'd find it a lot more painful. This is the problem with shifting school hours: not the hours themselves, but how they interact with everyone else's hours. Finally, there is a privileged circadian, and it's the Sun's. Free, global lighting is just too good to pass up on.

chadlavi 7y ago

> Can't people just be more disciplined and go to bed an hour earlier if they need an hours extra sleep? You ever met kids?