Daylight Saving
Time (DST)
has been used for more than one hundred years. During
the summer months, the sun stays visible for a longer time, and sunset
happens late in the day. For this reason, certain countries advance the time by
one hour near the start of summer, and put it back one hour during autumn. In
Europe it is called Summer Time.
The time during the winter months is called Standard Time.[i]
Do the advantages of DST offset
the disadvantages? According to a 2014 Rasmussen Report, only thirty-three
percent of Americans see the purpose of DST. So why do more than seventy countries
in the world still use DST today?
Advantages
1.
Changing
the clocks does not create extra daylight, but it causes the Sun to rise and set at a later time by the clock. So, when we spring forward an hour in spring,
we add one hour of natural daylight to our afternoon schedule, which can be
used for longer evenings for things like recreation or tourism.
2.
Safety
is a good argument for keeping the lighter evenings of DST. Studies have found
that DST contributes to improved road safety by reducing
pedestrian fatalities by thirteen percent during dawn and dusk hours. Another study
found a seven percent decrease in robberies following the spring
shift to DST.
Disadvantages
1.
A
century ago, when DST was introduced, more daylight was a
good thing because it meant less use of artificial light, helping to save
energy. Modern society, with its computers, TV-screens, and air conditioning
units uses more energy, no matter if the Sun is up or not. Today, the amount of
energy saved from DST is negligible.
2.
Changing
the time by one hour disrupts our body clocks (circadian rhythm). For most
people, the resulting tiredness is simply an inconvenience. For some, the time
change can have more serious consequences.
Studies link the lack of sleep at the start of
DST to car accidents, workplace injuries, suicide, and miscarriages. The early evening
darkness after the end of the DST period is linked to depression. The risk of suffering a heart attack is also increased when DST begins. The extra
hour of sleep we get at the end of DST has in turn been linked to fewer heart attacks.
3.
It
is hard to determine the economic cost of the collective tiredness caused by
DST, but studies have found that there is a decrease in productivity after the spring transition. There is
an extra cost in building DST support into computer systems and keeping them
maintained, as well as manually changing clocks.
“Quick Fact:
Daylight Saving Time once got a man out of being drafted for the Vietnam
War. When drafted, he argued that standard time, not daylight saving
time, was the official time for recording births in his state of Delaware at
the time of his birth. Thus, he was actually born the previous day using
standard time, so he should have had a higher draft lottery number. This
defense worked and he didn’t have to go to war.” (@TodayIFoundOut.com) [ii]
[i] The United States (most of Arizona and Hawaii), Australia (Queensland, Western Australia
and the Northern Territory), the United Kingdom, and Canada (Saskatchewan except for a few locations with the border with Alberta and Manitoba)
[ii] Sources used:
·
“Daylight Saving Time” from Wikipedia
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