As daylight time kicks in, many likely to flip out

SAN FRANCISCO - Don't be surprised if most of the country is acting a tad wacky today.

Blame it on daylight-saving time. However, most of Arizona does not observe it. The Navajo Nation in Arizona does.

Losing that hour when the clock lurches forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. every spring knocks people off their natural rhythms. Some have gotten into the shower with their underpants on, put soap in the baby's bottle or tossed their paychecks in the trash, a new poll found. Others reported putting their clothes on inside-out or going to an ATM to order food.

Overall, 61 percent of Americans say they significantly feel the effects of losing that hour of sleep, and 40 percent say it will take them at least a full week to get back to normal, according to the survey of 1,038 adults released last week by the Better Sleep Council.

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas also do not observe daylight-saving time.

Digital artist Byron Lobos, 42, feels the pain with disdain.

"I hate the time shift!" he complained as he strolled up San Francisco's Market Street with his friend Chrissy Linn. "It's great when you get that hour back in the fall, but so terrible to lose it.

"It really messes with your body for weeks - you're tired, cranky, just don't feel in sync with anything."

The dumbness or wisdom of it all fills ordinary folks and scientists alike with raging opinions. They agree on at least one thing - it's great to get that extra hour of daylight tacked into the evening. But it's also a true bummer to have sleep snatched away on that one short day.