Everyone is all too familiar with the biannual time-changes occurring in the spring and fall of each year. Whether it’s “springing” forward an hour, or “falling” back one, the change throws everyone off globally. This coming Sunday, November 5th, will mark the end of this year’s Daylight Saving period that began earlier this year on March 12th. While gaining an hour of sleep in the fall is less of a rude awakening than its spring counterpart, this time of year resparks the conversation of the what, where, when, and why’s of this strange ritual.
Yes, it’s really “Daylight Saving,” not “Savings.”
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is commonly referred to as Daylight Savings with a plural S which is wrong. “Saving” acts as a verb because you are quite literally saving daylight with a time change. Although the name implies it as more of an adjective, it’s a common
misconception to use the plural version because that’s phonetically instinctual.
Daylight Saving Time also refers to the period between the two time changes, not the changes themselves. So this year’s Daylight Saving Time was March 12th through November 5th.
No, Benjamin Franklin did not invent Daylight Saving
The Franklin Institute itself is very adamant in deterring the blame of this event away from Ben Frank stating, “Daylight saving time is one thing that Franklin did not invent.”
In the Spring of 1784, he published an essay in the Journal de Paris titled “An Economic Project” where he listed the benefits of natural daylight versus artificial means.
“He merely suggested Parisians change their sleep schedules to save money on candles and lamp oil,” wrote the Franklin Institute.
Daylight Saving Time was not invented for farmers to have more daylight to tend to their fields.
In fact, farmers were never a big fan as it actually “throws off their usual harvesting schedule,” according to the History Channel. In this case, World War I is the culprit. On April
30th, 1916, Germany and Austria decided to implement a one-hour clock change in order toconserve energy necessary for war efforts. By 1918, several other countries in Europe as well as America adopted the concept.
In the US, however, people saw this adjustment as one particular to the war so when the fighting ended, so did saving the daylight. That is, until the second World War when President Franklin D. Roosevelt reinstated it. After the allies won, many states just kept on practicing the time changes. In 1966, Congress made Daylight Saving Time a nation-wide standard with the passing of the Uniform Time Act.
The Big Debate
Studies show that changing the clock in this biannual ritual can actually be harmful.
“That one-hour change may not seem like much, but it can wreak havoc on people’s mental and physical well-being in the short term,” shares Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine in an article for Harvard Health Publishing.
Our bodies are fine tuned to a 24-hour circadian rhythm based on the earth’s rotation. Changing the time, even by just one hour, disrupts everyone. By the time we get used to the first time change, the second one is looming.
Not only are scientists discouraging Daylight Saving Time, but the majority of US citizens areagainst it. The same Harvard Health Publishing article states that “a 2022 poll found that 61% of Americans favored ending DST.”
For every Con, there’s a Pro.
One of the main arguments against the abolishment of DST is that longer hours of light promote more safety. Britannica ProCon.org relays with factual evidence that, “daylight in the evening makes it safer for joggers, people walking dogs after work, and children playing outside, among others, because drivers are able to see people more easily and criminal activity is lowered.” In this case, DST also promotes active lifestyles since people will have more time to go for a run after work or school.
DST is also believed to have economic benefits as it provides extended daylight hours, allowing businesses dependent on daytime operations to remain open for longer.
Whatever your thoughts are on the topic, this procedure isn’t changing anytime soon– at least for the next year. The time is set to change again on March 10, 2024 and November 3, 2024. For now, all we can do is enjoy the extra hour of sleep coming this Sunday.
