Daylight Saving Time

[nelson]

Daylight Saving Time Explained
More popularly known as DST, daylight saving time has been defined as "a practice whereby time is advanced one hour ahead during spring and summer warmer months to make use of daylight throughout the evening". Generally speaking, advancing the clocks forward will permit people to have daylight during evening hours that, in turn may allow people to engage in more outdoor activities and possibly reduce energy consumption.

History and Origins of Daylight Saving Time

Benjamin Franklin's Idea, 1784: The concept of changing time to make better use of daylight was first mooted by the venerable statesman, Benjamin Franklin in a tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris. He prescribed economizing on candles by getting up early and making full use of the morning daylight.

Modern Adoption: The idea remained essentially neglected for most of the time until the beginning of the 20th century. DST, as we have come to practice today, eventually began its formulation in the UK during World War I-1916-as a wartime measure. The first country to adopt DST was Germany during WWI; in a very short time, many European countries did so.

Post-WWI & WWII: Immediately following WWI & WWII, many countries remained on DST, although the usage varied heavily and was further universally adopted during the middle of the 20th century.

U.S. Adoption: The United States finally started consistently adopting daylight-saving time when the Uniform Time Act of 1966 took effect, wherein states were required to practice DST with some exceptions. However, the United States implemented DST during World War I in 1918 but did not continue the program when the war ended.

How Daylight Saving Time Works

Spring Forward: The leap forward by one hour usually in March or April every year depending on the country adopting Daylight Saving

Time. The act is variously labeled "springing forward."

Fall Back: The term used to identify the time falling back from the Daylight Saving Time to standard time during the fall, usually in the month of October or November. It is also termed "falling back."

Duration: Duration of DST is generally months in most practising regions. It starts usually during spring and ends during fall. Commencement and ending dates vary by country.

Present Status of Implementation of DST

Some Countries Which Follow DST
It is followed by most of the countries in Europe, North America, and large parts of Middle East, South America, and Oceania.
In Europe, this practice is followed by all EU member states, its starting date being the last Sunday in March while the finishing date is the last Sunday in October

United States: In all states with exceptions: a few regions are exempt from this practice of DST, for example, nearly the entire state of Arizona barring the Navajo nation and Hawaii

Countries Which Do Not Follow DST:
Equatorial countries like countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America do not apply DST since the difference in day lengths are relatively small in each month of the year.
It is also not used in Russia, China, India, Japan and most of the countries in Africa

Debate and Controversy About Daylight Saving Time

Advantages:
Energy Savings: The first motivations for DST were related to energy saving. What this means is that once one evening hour of daylight is gained, it means people will use less artificial lighting and hence consume less energy.

More Productive and Outdoor Activities: Longer evenings may boost outdoor recreation, shopping, tourism, and physical activities that are beneficial to local economies thus helping keep healthier lifestyles.

Safety: Others believe the longer days reduce automobile accidents, and are safer for walkers.

Disadvantages
Disturbed Sleeping and Health Effects: Time change disrupts the so-called circadian rhythms of individuals, which may subsequently lead to sleep disorders, mood changes, and other health effects including a heightened mortality rate due to heart attacks and strokes during the immediate time following the time change.

Inefficiency in Saving Energy: Various studies have questioned the efficiency of DST to save energy. The probable savings from lighting, according to these studies, are minimized by increased heating and air conditioning during evenings.

Economic Costs: Time shift causes temporary disruptions in businesses, transportation systems, and other economic activities hence causing inefficiencies and increased costs.

Technological Changes: While technological changes have now made light bulbs today, such as LEDs for example, so much more efficient than in the past, as are smart thermostats, any actual savings from DST may no longer be a factor it once was.

Contemporary Issues and Tendencies

EU and Other Global Movements: It is also true that in 2018, the European Union did propose this abolition in 2021 to allow member countries to choose either permanent standard time or permanent daylight-saving time. That has not been applied universally to this date.

US Movements: Even in the US, constant debate goes on either to abolish it altogether or to keep it permanent. A number of states, which include Florida, California, and Washington, passed legislations or placed propositions on ballots for permanent DST year-round. Such changes would be in need of federal approval.

Global Trends: Permanent DST has been tried by a few countries like Russia and Turkey. However, adverse health and productivity effects on people made them trace back their decision.

Impact of Time Change on People

Immediate Effects: Moving in and out of DST temporarily upsides the sleep patterns, causing a host of problems including fatigue, irritability, and glitch in concentration. The malady is popularly known as "social jetlag."

Health Effects: Indeed, even the first few days after a time change have been linked to a transient increased incidence of heart attacks, stroke, and even work-related injuries. It may contribute to disruptions in mental health; the adjustment period can give some symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Economic Impact: This translates to implications for the economy. On business, the effects are mixed, given that while a few studies tend to evidence an increase in retail sales due to people having more daylight hours, others report that workplace productivity can decline temporarily as the disrupted sleep patterns take hold.

Alternatives to Daylight Saving Time

Some of the proposed alternatives with which to reduce the negatives associated with DST include the following:
It used to be Standard Time: this would imply that the country would just stick with what is today the current clock and would not change that to account for the time shift. Some say this is in tune with a person's circadian rhythm; thus, people would tend to be more productive.

All-year-round Day Light Saving: The advocates of DST all over the year claim that it provides a tremendous evening light which is very useful for the businesses and the sporting persons who wish to practice sports in the open during the evenings after work.

Smaller Variation: Others believe that the time should be changed gradually over a number of weeks rather than having a sudden leap in spring and fall on account of minimum health consequences

Conclusion
This is quite a debated issue, especially with Daylight Saving Time. While first established to conserve energy and provide more hours of daylight for the population, it really does not serve any useful purpose today with the advancement in technology and further research into health effects caused by DST. Whereas some have abolished it, others have made it permanent, while others that still retain it cite various benefits it offers to business, health, and safety. With the heated debates going on for its abolishment or changing its mechanism to suit the present needs of the current world, its fate still lies in the balance.

Edited November 5 by nelson