Many Americans had to turn on the lights before brushing their teeth or stumbling into the kitchen to make coffee until the sun rose. For a lot of us, that happened well after 7 a.m.

If daylight savings time seemed to sneak up on you this year, it's because it did.

Thanks to some fine print in the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 [1], our clocks got bumped ahead a few weeks earlier this year. Normally, daylight savings takes place in early April, rather than the second Sunday in March. (The clocks will also get pushed back in the first week of November, rather than the last week of October.)

It'll be a while before Congress decides whether the extra month of sunshine actually translates into less energy consumption, along with less crime and traffic accidents. According to the New York Times [2], we don't have enough data yet to accurately predict if the switch will have significant impact. The jury is still collecting evidence.

Still, springing forward ahead of schedule has stirred up some strong feelings. The article weighs many of the pros and cons, most of which were echoed yesterday by various friends.

A good friend is outraged because he had to change 41 clocks (he counted), and sees no purpose to daylight savings time anyway. Another friend complained that he now has to walk his dogs in the dark. A woman in my yoga [2] class griped that the early time change is messing with her circadian rhythms. And tech support people around the country have nicknamed this the "mini-Y2K [3]" because it's mucking up the nation's computer networks.

That said, however, a lot of people are thrilled by the bumped-up schedule. Daylight savings time usually means that they get to hop on their bikes, run, hike, walk, or rollerblade after work. A lot of them are happy to start training for bike races, marathons and enjoy outdoor workouts a few weeks sooner than they could last year.

Personally, I tend to rise with the sun, which I means I'll be waking up at an almost slacker-ish 7:30 a.m. But it's worth it to get that extra hour of light, even if you're more likely to find me enjoying it on an outdoor patio rather than on a hiking trail. And maybe this switch will have a real impact on energy conservation in this country.

What do you think about getting an extra week of daylight savings time? So you think it will make a dent in climate change and global warming [3] -- or is it essentially just a waste of time?