What is Daylight Saving?

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is when the clocks are set an hour forward from Standard Time. The idea is to maximize sunlight. It will begin at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 12, and it will end at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 5, 2o23.

 Daylight Saving Time began in the United States during World War I to conserve energy. On March 19, 1918, the original U.S. law, made “an act to save daylight and to provide standard time, for the United States.” It was very unpopular according to Web Exhibits.

It was repealed due to the war’s end, despite President Woodrow Wilson vetoing the repeal. It wasn’t until World War II that the argument came up again.

In 1942 Congress enacted a law to have national daylight-saving time to help conserve fuel and “promote national security and defense,” which is why it was nicknamed “war time.” However, when war ended again in 1945, the law was repealed a second time as reported by the U.S. Department of Defense.

For the next few decades states switched between DST and standard time (ST) at their discretion.  However, this created an enormous amount of confusion.  As a result, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which standardized daylight savings time.

Then during the energy crisis of 1974, the U.S. decided to adopt permanent DST. However, after the first winter of dark mornings, public support dropped so low that it was repealed.

Since DST began it hasn’t been very popular. An online survey by The America Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) was conducted in July 2020, and 63% of the participants would prefer to eliminate Daylight Saving.

 Hailey McGowan,  Sophomore, explains, “I hate it because it messes up my sleep schedule.”

Jocelyn Ortiz,  Junior,  comments, “I think that daylight saving changes the day completely for many people. We lose track of time and can get lost easily throughout the day.”

Eva Munoz, Freshman, states, “I think it’s dumb and I don’t like it, it makes me lose sleep.” 

What does DST have to do with students losing sleep? According to the Sleep Foundation they explained,  “In addition to sleep loss, people are at greater risk of mood disturbance, suicide, and being involved in traffic accidents… the human body never fully acclimates to DST. Rather, their circadian misalignment may become a chronic or permanent condition.”

Circadian is our internal clock. It is important to sleep.  According to the article, “Catching Some Zzz’s” by Katelyn Koceja, Reporter for Pawprints stated” that Americans get 40 minutes less of sleep during the transition.” 

Nonetheless, DST does have its benefits. Alany Tuesta, elaborates, “I like it because I get to have more daylight to take care of my responsibilities, be more productive, and have fun.”

More extended daylight promotes safety. Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders economists found that robberies drop about 7% overall. It is good for the economy. “Chambers of Commerce tend to support DST because of the positive effect on the economy.” (“Daylight Saving Time – Top 3 Pros and Cons ”) Daylight means a longer evening meaning more time to do stuff you love. 

In Florida, there is the ‘Sunshine Protection Act’ in 2018 makes Daylight Saving Time permanent.

If your someone that doesn’t agree with Daylight Saving Time there are some local petitions you could sign, like sign.moveon.org, change.org, and endDaylightSavingTime.org.