What More Compelling Reasons Do You Need?

Less sun, more sneezing - Theory suggests that a shortage of vitamin D triggers outbreaks of flu

As the annual flu season looms, some scientists have this question on their minds: Why now?

For more than a century, physicians have recognized that influenza sweeps the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months, typically peaking here between late December and March.

In a paper scheduled for publication next month in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, a Harvard University-led team proposes that a vitamin D deficiency caused by inadequate winter sun exposure may predispose people to infection.

This is one of the most compelling reasons to date for extending Daylight Savings Time to all year round. Let's keep that extra hour of sunlight in the winter as long as possible, to keep folks exposed to the Vitamin D that much longer. Sure some people would still exist in the darkness of the early-morning hours just as much, and there's nothing anyone can do about the length of the days in the winter, but every little bit helps.

And so far the only reason I've ever heard floated out for keeping Standard Time is the old "kids at the bus stop in the dark" complaint.

I think the positives from afternoon sun far outweigh the negatives and it's once again time to look into eliminating this outdated tradition.