It seems like we JUST "fell back," and now it's almost time to "spring forward." Which is kind of great, because it's one step closer to summer being here. Get ready to change your clocks ahead one hour this coming Sunday.

It seems like whenever it's time for the clocks to change, everyone grumbles and groans. While it is only an hour time difference, it can be a struggle to adjust to the time change. So, why do we go through all this hassle for one hour, two times a year?

I have heard and read about many different reasons why we observe daylight savings time. After a little bit of internet surfing, here's some of what I found out about Daylight Saving Time (DST):

  • It was originally proposed by Benjamin Franklin - jokingly. In 1784, Frankiln wrote a satirical letter to the editor of The Journal of Paris, poking fun at the French for being lazy and not wisely using daylight. Basically, moving forward an hour would "oblige" people to wake earlier. His piece's suggested things such as rationing candles and firing cannons to wake late sleepers, so people would use the daylight hours more productively. Read his letter here.
  • Thanks to World War I, DST was made law. In 1916, Germany was the first country to implement Daylight Saving Time as an effort to conserve coal during the war. Britain and other European nations followed suit. Two years later, in 1918, the United States also switched to DST to conserve electricity.
  • Apparently, Daylight Saving Time can be bad for your health. According to sciencedaily.com, DST "eliminates bright morning light that critically synchronizes biologic clocks." This could lead to issues like partial sleep deprivation or even heart attack or stroke or other illnesses.
  • Two in the morning seems to be a random time to change adjust the clocks. But there is a reason we "spring forward" and "fall back" at 2:00 AM. This is because most people aren't awake at that time, businesses and bars are generally closed; and, when we do fall back, we won't go back to the previous day.
  • Since 2015, there have been over 200 bills and resolutions introduced to get rid of the time change - even though it's not actually federally mandated (just observed). The two states that don't participate in DST are Arizona and Hawaii. If you want more information on DST check out timeanddate.com.

How do you feel about the time change?

 

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