Daylight Saving Time
/Here It Comes Again
That persnickety daylight saving time (DST). It’s here. Already. We barely got a break from it before it's right on top of us again.
Of course, you know the correct term is daylight SAVING (no s) time. But over time, it has been easy for people to add an "s" in their conversations.
I have a theory that we're subconsciously thinking of our monetary "savings" which, heaven knows, is usually too small. Just like the amount of sleep we get in the first days after the time change. That's not very scientific, it’s just a fun idea.
Benjamin Franklin Invented It
It's likely that Franklin was more joking than serious, when he thought up the idea of daylight saving time many years ago. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the rest of us from enacting it.
The Verge gave us an article entitled Daylight Saving Time is Hot Garbage from which I quote below :
“Daylight Saving Time wasn’t introduced in America until 1918, when it was meant to conserve energy for World War I.
The thought was, essentially, Franklin’s: that people tend be more active in the evenings, so the extra daylight there would mean fewer hours where people lit their houses at night.
After the war, farmers lobbied to get the law repealed; turns out, it’s easier to do farm work when the rest of the world is also on the sun’s schedule.
In 1942, during World War II, DST was enacted again, but year-round.”
Daylight saving time didn't end after the war. Congress kept enacting and repealing DST until they finally made it law.
“DST was reintroduced by the federal government in 1966, though whether or not it was observed was up to states (Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe DST, for example).
And in 2007, a law passed by President George W. Bush expanded DST by more than a month — it now runs from March to November.”
Daylight Saving Time purportedly would save us energy consumption and costs. Studies, in fact, prove just the opposite. We consume more energy with our use of electronics and running our air conditions.
With this evidence in place, you'd think we'd remove DST just as easily as we added it, but somehow, it doesn't work that way.
Daylight Saving Time Studies
Not only does daylight saving time do little to save energy, we now have evidence that it has negative effects on our health and safety.
In the two days after the change to daylight saving time, there is a 24% increase in the number of heart attacks and for people over the age of 65, the risk of stroke increases by 23%. The time change is actually a "shock" to our systems. Blood pressure can also increase, putting people at risk for blood clots. These events are usually found in those who already have pre-existing conditions that increase their risk.
To help you with the time change, experts recommend exercise, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine and sticking to a schedule. Most notably, they advise us to de-stress.
Yay Or Nay For Daylight Saving Time?
Obviously, you can tell I favor elimination of daylight saving time. I trudge through it, like everyone else, but the further we get into fall, the more I long for the return of standard time.
I'm ready to never have to change my clock again except for those wonderful times when I'm afforded the opportunity to travel to other time zones.
And you? Where do you stand on the DST debate? Strong feelings on either side? Or maybe just a meh?
Whatever our feelings, we’ll be back to natural time in November when we change our clocks back.
Will It Ever End?
Addendum 2022: In March 2019, the European Parliament voted to eliminate the biannual clock changes and remain on Daylight Standard Time. No more springing forward or falling backward of the clocks.
Naturally, we rejoiced. But, did it actually happen? Sadly, no. Here’s a great article explaining Why Europe Couldn’t Stop Daylight Saving Time.
I suppose if we really want to avoid Daylight Saving Time in the U.S., we could move to Arizona or Hawaii – two states that refuse to change their clocks. Or, worldwide, we could move to Turkey, Russia or Belarus who have already eliminated daylight saving time.
In the meantime, the rest of us slog our way into the time change… yet again. What a wonderful day it will be when I write another addendum that daylight saving time has finally been eliminated in the United States, Europe and worldwide. But, given the glacial speed with which we move, I’m not holding my breath!
