Daylight Saving Time is about to end, and the clock-changing freak-out has already begun. A new poll finds two in five Americans will experience “Daylight Saving Scaries” when preparing to fall back in November.
The survey of 2,000 Americans revealed that 40% feel a sense of dread when preparing to set their clocks back by an hour, a feeling that lasts much longer than just the day or two after the time change. Results also find that this sense of dread sets in about 11 days prior to DST ending — starting around Oct. 23 this year. Moreover, people won’t get over the end of Daylight Saving Time for about 13 days, which will be Nov. 16.
Commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and conducted by Talker Research, the survey dug into the “Daylight Saving Scaries” and how people feel about changing their clocks. Regardless of whether they experience the “Daylight Saving Scaries,” 59% of Americans would permanently stop the switch to and from Daylight Saving Time if given the chance.
Older generations are more eager to do so. While only half of millennials would choose to end DST permanently, two-thirds of baby boomers (69%) say it’s time to pick one time and stick with it.
Only a third of respondents (35%) believe the trade-off in the fall — an extra hour of sleep for the night, versus less light in the evenings — is worth it. That might be due in part to the 77% of respondents who feel more energized when the Sun is out. After Daylight Saving Time ends, however, 70% feel like they start and end their day when it’s dark.
“The sudden shift to shorter days and darker nights throws off our sleep schedules,” says Mark Abrials, CMO at Avocado Green Mattress, in a statement. “Everyone is a bit cranky, grumpy, moody and lazy.”
Working Americans in the survey (48%) especially miss the daylight — 54% admit experiencing the “sunlight blues” after the time change, as they’re at work during all the hours of daylight. For employed respondents, 43% also said that the week after Daylight Saving Time ends is their most unproductive at work — with 31% admitting they make more mistakes than they typically would.