AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
If you woke up this morning to a brighter day and feeling just a bit more rested than usual, your body is not playing tricks. This morning at 2:00 a.m., the clocks fell back an hour marking the end of daylight saving time. How do people use that extra hour? Well, I, for one, use it to just feel better about my day. I feel like I have more time to get all the stuff I need to get done. We asked our colleagues and listeners how they plan to use that bonus hour, beginning with NPR White House reporter, Asma Khalid, who says the campaign grind never stops.
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ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: When I first realized that daylight saving time was ending this weekend, I was ecstatic because I realized it means I get an extra hour of sleep, which, at this moment, I could very much use. I am tired of this crazy campaign cycle. We get an extra hour of it.
BEN ABRAMS, BYLINE: I'm Ben Abrams, and I am a nocturnal/seminocturnal producer on Morning Edition. And what I'm going to do for my extra hour this weekend is get as much sleep as I can because I'm pretty sleep deprived during the week. The weekend's, like, the one time I can get enough sleep and not feel like a zombie.
JEONGYOON HAN, BYLINE: My name is Jeongyoon Han. I'm with the Washington desk. On Saturday night, my roommates and I are hosting a party at our house. It's Halloween themed, too, so we'll get to have an extra hour to dress up in our costumes.
HAILEY MILLER, BYLINE: My name is Hailey Miller (ph), and I'm a medical laboratory scientist in microbiology. I will be spending my extra hour continuing to provide patients with their lab results so that they can receive the care they need, and hopefully, they can go home and enjoy that extra hour of sleep.
ROBERT SCOTCH: My name is Robert Scotch (ph). I am a market setup and salesperson for Willow Wisp Organic Farm. Before the time change, I arrive in relative darkness. Post time change, there's almost full light for the setup, making for a much smoother process.
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RASCOE: And for those nighthawks working in bars and clubs, daylight saving can make long nights even longer.
LANI NGUYEN: My name is Lani Nguyen, and I go by DJ Lani Love. I've been DJing for 17 years. I've DJed pretty much every daylight savings change. There was one night in particular that I DJed with my friend Bounce Castle. And the crowd was just so hype. And then when we told them they had an extra hour, it's like the room erupted. It was such a blast.
RASCOE: Now, not everyone enjoys this time shift, like sleep scientist Karin Johnson.
KARIN JOHNSON: I will definitely be sleeping and (laughter) getting an extra hour of sleep, but otherwise, I've been busy this weekend advocating for permanent standard time.
RASCOE: Johnson is a neurologist and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time. And she says the disruption to our circadian rhythm can be harmful.
JOHNSON: Yeah, I think the science is clear. Standard time best aligns our natural circadian rhythms with the sun, which is best for our overall health.
RASCOE: Jamie Zeitzer, another sleep scientist, says daylight saving is a heated topic in the sleep science community.
JAMIE ZEITZER: Many of my colleagues are very much against it. I'm not so against it. I don't think it's ideal, but I think that the impact that it has in terms of our health is quite small.
RASCOE: Zeitzer will use that extra hour of sunlight to spend more time with family, although he's not typically a morning person.
ZEITZER: Not by choice - my kids are morning people. My wife's a morning person.
RASCOE: I know I speak for everyone here at WEEKEND EDITION when I say that extra hour of sleep - it's pretty nice. Standard time, we're glad to have you back.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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