Every year, clocks get adjusted one hour ahead in the summer months and one hour back in the winter months to accommodate Daylight Savings Time (DST). This system allows for people to spend more time in the sun according to the time that the sun sets and use less energy for lighting when the days are longer.
Daylight savings tends to occur on the second Sunday of March and end on the first Sunday of November to allow for the spring and summer season to have longer daylight hours. Although when the clock changes people lose an hour of sleep for DST, they get access to a longer evening since the sleep schedule and routines are changing along with the time. Many argue that the benefits of longer daylight hours on mental health should necessitate daylight savings becoming permanent, but there are logistical reasons for the time changes throughout the year.
The reason for DST was originally to conserve energy, specifically during World War II when everything had to be preserved for the war, since it would reduce the amount of electricity used in the evening when it is still daylight. Since then, daylight savings has become a permanent part of the nation because it still conserves nature, even if there is no direct purpose for the saving of fuel and energy.
“About 140 countries have had daylight saving time at some point; about half that many do now,” according to AP News writer Geoff Mulvihill.
There were many debates about when DST should occur and if we even really need it, but overall it is good for the environment to use natural lighting in the evening rather than depend on artificial lighting.
According to PBS News, polls show that although only 1 in 10 people in the U.S. favor the current system of changing the clocks twice a year, the move to change the system has ultimately failed because many people are divided on the issue of whether to have permanent daylight savings or permanent standard time.
While 19 states have adopted laws requesting to move to permanent daylight saving time, Congress still needs to pass a law that would allow all states to make this move.
