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#REDIRECT [[Morning#Afternoon]] |
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{{Short description|Time of the day between noon and evening}} |
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{{Other uses}} |
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{{good article}} |
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[[File:Wien_T%C3%BCrkenschanzpark_(2376611600).jpg|thumb|right|The [[:de:Türkenschanzpark|Türkenschanzpark]] in [[Vienna]] during the early afternoon]] |
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[[File:Rooftop Bar, Metropolitan Museum Of Art (5894065780).jpg|thumb|right|Visitors to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York City]] during the late afternoon]] |
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'''Afternoon''' is the time between [[noon]] and [[sunset]] or [[evening]].<ref>{{cite web |title=afternoon, n. |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/afternoon_n?tab=factsheet#8723859 |website=www.oed.com |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> It is the time when the [[sun]] is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the [[horizon]] in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard [[working time|work]] and school day. In literal terms, it refers to a time specifically after noon. |
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== Terminology == |
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Afternoon is often defined as the period between [[noon]] and [[sunset]].<ref name="mw">{{cite web|title=Afternoon|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afternoon|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|access-date=October 9, 2014}}</ref> If this definition is adopted, the specific range of time varies in one direction: noon is defined as the time when the sun reaching its highest point in the sky,<ref>{{cite web|title=Noon|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noon|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=October 9, 2014}}</ref> but the boundary between afternoon and evening has no standard definition. However, before a period of transition from the 12th to 14th centuries, ''noon'' instead referred to 3:00 pm. Possible explanations include shifting times for prayers and midday meals, along which one concept of ''noon'' was defined—and so ''afternoon'' would have referred to a narrower timeframe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=noon|work=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]|date=2001|title=noon (n.)|access-date=October 10, 2014}}</ref> |
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The word ''afternoon'', which derives from ''after'' and ''noon'', has been attested from about the year 1300; [[Middle English]] contained both ''afternoon'' and the synonym ''aftermete''. The standard phrasing was ''at afternoon'' in the 15th and 16th centuries, but has shifted to ''in the afternoon'' since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=afternoon|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=2001|title=afternoon (n.)|access-date=October 10, 2014}}</ref> In [[American English dialects]], the word ''evening'' is sometimes used to encompass all times between noon and [[midnight]].<ref name="evening">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evening|title=Evening|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=October 9, 2014}}</ref> The [[Irish language]] contains four different words to mark time intervals from late afternoon to nightfall; this period is considered mystical.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ekirch|2006|p=xxxii}}</ref> Metaphorically, the word ''afternoon'' refers to a relatively late period in the expanse of time or in one's life.<ref name="mw"/> |
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The equivalent of Earth's afternoon on another planet would refer to the time the principal star of that [[planetary system]] would be in descent from its [[prime meridian]], as seen from the planet's surface. |
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== Events == |
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Afternoon is a time when the sun is descending from its daytime peak. During the afternoon, the sun moves from roughly the center of the sky to deep in the west. In late afternoon, [[sunlight]] is particularly bright and glaring, because the sun is at a low angle in the sky.<ref name="Aggarwal 172" /> The standard [[working time]] in most [[Developed country|industrialized countries]] goes from the [[morning]] to the late afternoon or early evening — archetypally, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm — so the latter part of this time takes place in the afternoon.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nine-to-fiver|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nine-to-fiver|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=October 9, 2014}}</ref> [[School|Schools]] usually let their students out around 3:00 pm during the mid afternoon.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Voght|first=Kara|date=2018-09-05|title=Why Does the School Day End Two Hours Before the Workday?|work=[[The Atlantic]]|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/09/school-day-parents/569401/|access-date=2021-02-11}}</ref> In [[Denmark]], afternoon is considered between 1:00 and 5:00 pm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=eftermiddag — Den Danske Ordbog |url=https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=eftermiddag |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=ordnet.dk}}</ref> |
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== Effects on life == |
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=== Hormones === |
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In [[diurnality|diurnal]] animals, it is typical for blood levels of the hormone [[cortisol]]—which is used to increase [[blood sugar]], aid [[metabolism]] and is also produced in response to [[Psychological stress|stress]]—to be most stable in the afternoon after decreasing throughout the morning. However, cortisol levels are also the most reactive to environmental changes unrelated to sleep and daylight during the afternoon. As a result, this time of day is considered optimal for researchers studying stress and hormone levels.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blaskovich|2011|p=74}}</ref> Plants generally have their highest [[photosynthesis|photosynthetic]] levels of the day at noon and in the early afternoon, owing to the sun's high angle in the sky. The large proliferation of [[maize]] crops across Earth has caused tiny, harmless fluctuations in the normal pattern of atmospheric [[carbon dioxide]] levels, since these crops photosynthesize large amounts of carbon dioxide during these times and this process sharply drops down during the late afternoon and evening.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sinclair|Weiss|2010|p=118}}</ref> |
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=== Body temperature === |
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In humans, [[Thermoregulation in humans|body temperature]] is typically highest during the mid to late afternoon.<ref name="Refinetti 556" /> However, human athletes being tested for physical vigor on exercise machines showed no statistically significant difference after lunch.<ref name="Refinetti 556">{{Harvnb|Refinetti|2006|p=556}}</ref> Owners of [[factory farm]]s are advised to use buildings with an east–west (as opposed to north–south) orientation to house their [[livestock]], because an east–west orientation generally means thicker walls on the east and west to accommodate the sun's acute angle and intense glare during late afternoon. When these animals are too hot, they are more likely to become belligerent and unproductive.<ref name="Aggarwal 172">{{Harvnb|Aggarwal|Upadhyay|2013|p=172}}</ref> |
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=== Alertness === |
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[[File:Car accident poland 2008.jpg|thumb|left|[[Traffic collision|Motor vehicle accidents]] like this one in Poland are common during the afternoon, especially [[rush hour]].]] |
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The afternoon, especially the early afternoon, is associated with a dip in a variety of areas of human cognitive and productive functioning. Notably, [[traffic collision|motor vehicle accidents]] occur more frequently in the early afternoon, when drivers presumably have recently finished lunch.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCabe|2004|p=588}}</ref> A study of motor accidents in Sweden between 1987 and 1991 found that the time around 5:00 pm had by far the most accidents: around 1,600 at 5:00 pm, compared to around 1,000 each at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. This trend may have been influenced by the afternoon [[rush hour]], but the morning rush hour showed a much smaller increase.<ref>{{Harvnb|Refinetti|2006|p=559}}</ref> In Finland, accidents in the [[agriculture]] industry are most common in the afternoon, specifically Monday afternoons in September.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCabe|2004|p=471}}</ref> |
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One psychology professor studying [[circadian rhythm]]s found that his students performed somewhat worse on exams in the afternoon than in the morning, but even worse in the evening. Neither of these differences, however, was statistically significant.<ref name="Refinetti 556" /> Four studies carried out in 1997 found that subjects who were given tests on differentiating [[traffic sign]]s had longer [[reaction time]]s when tested at 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm than at 9:00 am and 12:00 pm. These trends are held across all four studies and for both complex and abstract questions.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCabe|2004|p=590}}</ref> However, one UK-based researcher failed to find any difference in exam performance on over 300,000 A-level exam papers sat in either the morning or afternoon.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Quartel|first1=Lara|title=The effect of the circadian rhythm of body temperature on A-level exam performance|journal=Undergraduate Journal of Psychology|date=2014|volume=27|issue=1|url=https://journals.uncc.edu/ujop/article/view/283/300}}</ref> |
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Human productivity routinely decreases in the afternoon. [[Power station|Power plants]] have shown significant reductions in productivity in the afternoon compared to the morning, the largest differences occurring on Saturdays and the smallest on Mondays.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ray|1960|p=11}}</ref> One 1950s study covering two female factory workers for six months found that their productivity was 13 percent lower in the afternoon, the least productive time being their last hour at work. It was summarized that the differences came from personal breaks and unproductive activities at the workplace.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ray|1960|p=12}}</ref> Another, larger study found that afternoon declines in productivity were greater during longer work shifts.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ray|1960|p=18}}</ref> |
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Not all humans share identical circadian rhythms. One study across Italy and Spain had students fill out a questionnaire, then ranked them on a "[[Morningness–eveningness questionnaire|morningness–eveningness]]" scale. The results were a fairly standard [[normal distribution|bell curve]]. Levels of alertness over the course of the day had a significant correlation with scores on the questionnaire. All categories of participants—evening types, morning types, and intermediate types—had high levels of alertness from roughly 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm, but outside this window their alertness levels corresponded to their scores.<ref>{{Harvnb|Refinetti|2006|p=561}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
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* [[Twilight]] |
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* [[12-hour clock]] |
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* [[Night owl (person)]] |
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== References == |
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{{reflist|30em}} |
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== Further reading == |
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* {{cite book|last1=Aggarwal|first1=Anjali|last2=Upadhyay|first2=Ramesh|title=Heat Stress and Animal Productivity|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|isbn=978-8-132-20879-2|date=2013}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Blaskovich|first=Jim|title=Social Psychophysiology for Social and Personality Psychology|date=2011|isbn=978-0-85702-405-3}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Ekirch|first=A. Roger|title=At Day's Close: Night in Times Past|isbn=978-0-393-32901-8|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|date=2006|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/atdaysclose00arog_0}} |
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* {{cite book|last=McCabe|first=Paul T.|title=Contemporary Ergonomics|date=2004|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=0-8493-2342-8}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Ray|first=James T.|title=Human Performance as a Function of the Work–Rest Cycle|publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]]|date=1960}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Refinetti|first=Roberto|title=Circadian Physiology|date=2006|edition=2nd|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group|isbn=978-0-8493-2233-4}} |
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* {{cite book|last1=Sinclair|first1=Thomas M.|last2=Weiss|first2=Albert|date=2010|title=Principles of Ecology in Plant Production|publisher=[[University of Nebraska, Lincoln]]/[[University of Florida]]}} |
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== External links == |
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* {{commonscat-inline|Afternoon}} |
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* {{wiktionary-inline|afternoon}} |
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{{Parts of a day}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Parts of a day]] |
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Revision as of 05:47, 25 April 2024
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