Spring Forward or Fall Back?

SHIFT. Clocks spring forward one hour every spring and fall backwards one hour every fall. There are benefits that come from having time changes like more daylight, yet there are many challenges that also occur like lack of sleep, and for some health issues. Photo Courtesy of Goggle-Turmerry.

On the second Sunday of March, clocks throughout the U.S. are set one hour ahead at 2:00 a.m, turning the clock to 3:00 a.m. daylight saving time (DST) ends on the first Sunday of November, when clocks are turned back one hour from at 2:00 a.m to 1:00 a.m. The U.S. is one of the many countries that utilizes daylight saving time, along with nations in Europe, Canada, and parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Daylight saving time maximizes sunlight during spring, summer, and fall. Along with the positive impact of having more daylight during the warm months, there have been studies that show there are many not so positive effects on the health of Americans after daylight saving.

Most of the World does not participate in DST. In fact, only about a third of countries do, and they are all mostly found in Europe. There are some exceptions, as Armenia, Belarus, and Iceland are one of the few countries that do not participate in DST within Europe. Outside of Europe, DST is mostly used in North America especially in parts of the U.S. and Canada and in some regions of Latin America and the Caribbean .Egypt is the only country within the African nation that participates in DST. In the U.S., Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not participate in DST, but there are some smaller territories that also don't observe DST

Daylight saving is used to conserve energy by making better use of natural light. Daylight saving was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada. Although Canada was the first country to use daylight saving it was not popularized world wide until Germany and Austria introduced it in April 30, 1916– two years into World War 1.This was done to attempt to limit the use of artificial lighting, as people relied on generators and other fuel powered lighting to conserve fuel for the war. DST was invented by New Zealand scientist George Vernon Hudson and British builder William Willett. Hudson presented his idea to the Wellington Philosophical Society, proposing the 2 hour shift forward in October and a 2 hour shift back in March. Although there was interest in the idea, it was never followed through. William Willett’s Idea suggested setting the clock back 20 minutes every Sunday in April, and then switching back the same amount each Sunday in September making 8 switches per year. Although the modern DST has only been used for 100 years, a few ancient civilizations did similar practices several thousand years ago. According to aTime and Date article written by journalists Anne Buckle and Sara Kornberg.

Apart from the long history of DST, there have also been a few studies that suggest that there is a concern with health issues that arise from the time change. According to studies done by Stanford Medicine, the time change disrupts circadian rhythms, leading to higher rates of stroke and obesity. The loss of an hour of sleep in March has been connected to increasing numbers of heart attacks and fatal traffic accidents in the days that follow. In a study conducted by Stanford Medicine, researchers found that switching between standard time and daylight saving time is a bad decision. Keeping a permanent time system whether standard or daylight saving can improve overall health. Permanent standard time would be the most beneficial for most people. The researchers estimate that permanent standard time would result in 300,000 fewer people having suffered from strokes and 2.6 million fewer people having obesity, while permanent daylight saving would have about two thirds of the effect.

There are benefits from having both daylight saving and standard time because it allows for a better use of daylight time and energy throughout the different seasons of the year. However, having a singular time zone would be more beneficial to some for many reasons like reduced medical issues and less fatigue when the time change occurs. Although this is not the truth for many, as there is a large amount of people who believe the time change is better than keeping a singular time zone. There is no definitive right or wrong answer, as opinions differ across countries, state, and nations