Every year in early November, some people turn their clocks back one hour to commemorate the conclusion of Daylight Saving Time.
And this resumption of Daylight Savings Time (DST) robs some of us of an hour of sleep and disrupts our routines.
Putting the clocks back in the fall is difficult for some individuals; setting them forward in the spring is much more difficult.
People who get the change haywire at that time are two hours late for everything instead of two hours early. Even those who successfully adjust the clock lose an hour of sleep.
The United States began the communal clock-changing ritual known as daylight saving time, or DST, a century ago, in 1918.
Today, around 70 countries follow the practice, albeit how it is carried out has evolved.
Compared to a conventional work day of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the one-hour shift prevents dawn from being too early and enables dusk to be later.
Despite its long history, daylight savings time may be a friend and a nemesis to others.
With all this uncertainty and inconvenience, many of us wonder if Daylight Saving Time – or DST in short – is worth the trouble.
In today’s piece, let us discuss the pros and cons of daylight saving time.
Table of Contents
Pros of Daylight Savings Time
Let us start with the nice things, the pros of daylight saving time!
1. Longer Evenings
What’s preferable: a brief glimpse of daylight before work (and driving home in the dark) or being able to soak into the evening sun?
More light, right? That’s what we assumed. More light equals more time to do what you wish or require, which equals a happy you.
Who doesn’t like a bit of additional light in the evening? According to health experts, longer nights encourage individuals to leave the household.
People can use the extra hour for outdoor recreation activities such as golf, soccer, baseball, and jogging.
2. Less Artificial Light
If you have ever had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), you will realize how important natural light is.
Because of the need for artificial illumination, being inside during the colder winter can lead to despair.
One of the purposes of DST is to ensure that a person’s activity hours correspond with daylight hours, requiring less artificial light and improving mood.
3. Relives Strained Eyes
During Daylight Saving Time, tired eyes might get some much-needed rest.
A 2011 research disseminated through the American Journal of Public Health connected exposure to fluorescent light—the type still found in many older homes and offices—to increased eye strain and illness.
DST allows you to turn off those drab bulbs and replace them with good old-fashioned sunlight.
4. Reduced Crime Rates
Even if we can’t come to terms with whether Daylight Saving Time is a good idea or not, we can all recognize the significance of safety.
Light is one of those items that make us feel more secure. We may keep the lights on in the house at night or while away.
To feel secure, we may additionally embellish our landscape with extra lighting to assist light up our dwellings.
A 2015 research by Brookings Institute’s economists Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders, rapes and robberies reduce when evening rush hour has an extra hour of sunlight.
According to The Oregonian, robberies decrease roughly 7% after the yearly switch to daylight saving time.
Evening daylight provides more security for runners, people walking their pets after work, and youngsters playing outside from traffic accidents and criminal activities.
5. Business Advantages
Big businesses appear to be supporting daylight saving time! Many firms discovered that altering the timing helped them increase sales.
This is remarkably accurate for individuals in the sports and retail industries. Outdoor sports businesses like golf are also pleased with the time shift.
According to them, when the hours after work were extended, individuals were more likely to go shopping or participate in leisure activities, which raised economic activity.
The tourist business benefits from the long evenings as well. Longer nights provide individuals more time to shop, dine out, or attend other recreational activities.
6. Free Hour Sleep
Several people like the “Fall Back” clock setting with a “free” hour of beautiful uninterrupted sleep because the clock switches back to one when it chimes two in the morning.
Most folks will get an extra hour of sleep unless they stay up later because they know they have an extra hour!
Cons of Daylight Savings Time
Now let’s see why daylight saving does not work for everyone.
1. Challenges In Timekeeping
Even in this high-tech day, adjusting the time demands someone to accomplish it manually or by programming.
Most people adjust the standard time on their phones, and those phones swap time with seasonal time shifts.
Consider the timepieces, vehicle stereos, and wall clocks that continue to play a role in people’s lives.
Some others have even missed work because they neglected to set their clocks forward.
Regardless of how people view it, ensuring the body clocks are adjusted is a trying thing to remember.
This can also impact organizations that need frequent travel and other time-sensitive activities.
2. Health Effects
It takes quite some time for our bodies to acclimate when we alter our clocks in the spring and autumn. According to research, this is more than simply an annoyance; it is a health risk!
The length of time it takes our body to acclimatize to the year-round standard time shift has been debated in studies.
According to a 2009 study publicized in Sleep Medicine, it might take anything from a day to three weeks.
However, according to 2007 research published in Current Biology, we never totally adjust.
A study from Sleep Medicine highlighted a 3% increase in the risk of heart attacks during the first-week daylight saving time transition.
The inconsistencies between our biological clocks and sleep-wake cycles by instituting year-round daylight saving time can give rise to the prevalence of a wide range of health problems.
The health issues are mostly affiliated with circadian rhythm disruptions, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and dementia.
Even by one hour, adjusting the time deranges biological clocks and rhythm.
Even though it is only an hour, individuals frequently express how much the time change has impacted them, especially their sleeping patterns.
This is exceptionally valid for parents of infants, toddlers, and children. Without a doubt, changing the clocks by an hour has become difficult for families.
3. Auto Accidents
The springtime change has also been linked to a spike in fatal accidents, primarily on the Monday after the spring shift.
It is thought that these fatal traffic accidents happen because drivers are weary after missing an hour of sleep following the springtime change.
According to CBS News, the University of British Columbia observed a 17 percent increase in road casualties during the first week of daylight saving time in 2015.
The accidents eventually decrease, but the first spike in mishaps is a disadvantage that critics of daylight saving time frequently point out.
4. Compromised Productivity
Since it is one of the most sleep-deprived days of the year, the Monday following the springtime change is dubbed “Sleepy Monday.”
Because employees are tired, there is an upsurge in “cyber-loafing” (spending time on the internet) the week after the spring DST time shift.
5. Doesn’t Save Energy
When Daylight Saving Time was adopted a century ago, more daylight was good since it meant less artificial light usage and more energy savings.
Modern devices such as computers, TV displays, and air conditioning systems are unaffected by the sun’s gleaming and continue to consume more energy.
After 100 years and several technological developments, the electricity savings by DST is so minimal that it isn’t even worth contemplating.
6. Agricultural Impacts
Producers appear to dislike daylight saving time. Agrarian workers require sunshine for harvesting, among other reasons.
Farmers must be in tune with the sun’s location and time when responding to crops. These chores might suffer from an hour of back and forth.
It is a frequent misconception that DST was instituted to provide farmers with additional daylight hours for labor.
Most farmers are opposed to DST because it disrupts their everyday routines. Because there is less light in the morning, they have less time to prepare their crops for the market.
And it is tough for dairy producers to supply milk an hour early since cows prefer to be milked at the same hour every day.
Summary (pros and cons of daylight savings time)
| Pros |
|---|
| Longer Evenings |
| Less Artificial Light |
| Relives Strained Eyes |
| Reduced Crime Rates |
| Business Advantages |
| Free Hour Sleep |
| Cons |
|---|
| Challenges In Timekeeping |
| Health Effects |
| Auto Accidents |
| Doesn’t Save Energy |
| Agricultural Impacts |
| Compromised productivity |
Ironically, all current evidence on Daylight Saving Time suggests that it is advantageous in many ways, but that’s not what most people would want to believe.
Whether you like it or not, daylight saving time isn’t going away anytime soon!
Altering your timepiece by an hour twice a year may seem straightforward, but there have been several debates over the benefits and drawbacks of daylight saving time.
So which side are you on?
(Last Updated on September 25, 2022)
