Spring forward? Yuck.

If you didn't set your clocks forward one hour last night you may report for work an hour late tomorrow. As the resident insomniac, I did the duty at our house, being just as likely as not to be awake at 2 a.m. anyway, spring or fall.

I welcome the "fall back" side of Daylight Savings Time. But "spring forward?" No thanks.

For years, my wife has characterized my wildly out-of-sync body rhythm as "Tokyo Time." It may not be quite that dramatic, but it seems there's no solution - at least none I've stumbled upon - for this malady.

And it is a malady. The combination of over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids I routinely ingest to induce slumber would knock out a water buffalo. But when you're on Tokyo time in East Tennessee they can take an hour or more for them to slow you down, and they have little effect if taken before midnight.

Early morning work assignments are torture, especially in the spring. This week, for example, I'm already anxious about an 8 a.m. County Commission workshop. Whether I've had eight hours rest or five, and the latter is more typical, I'm not known for the speed and efficiency with which I prepare for the day ahead. So an 8 o'clock appointment downtown translates to a 6 a.m. wake-up call. Praise God for caffeine.

Of course, I'm hardly alone. By some estimates, more than 30 million Americans cope with chronic insomnia, and Big Pharm has taken notice. Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, Rozerem, Desyrel (trazodone) and Elavil - to name a few - are big sellers, and research on new sleep aids is ongoing.

Well, enough of this self-pity. It's time for my nap. But, here are a couple of informative links:

Daylight Savings Time history: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/c.html

Insomnia: http://www.americaninsomniaassociation.org/treatment.htm