It is Only a Matter of Time
It’s Only a Matter of Time
A Treatise in the Fervent Hope of Ending
Daylight Savings Time (DST)
Once upon a time, there was a land of
people who lived under a spell of time. Twice a year they go into a deep trance
and are manipulated by a magical force to change their clocks. Before they
enter their evening slumber on Saturday night, they move the hands of the clock
to reflect a different time. When they wake from their slumbers on Sunday
morning, they were convinced that they are living their lives at a completely
different time. They continued to live under this spell, which lasted all of six months, until another spell of time was cast.
The above scenario sounds like a fairy
tale. It sounds like complete and utter lunacy, right? Then why do we do it
every year? My friends I have just revealed the greatest example of mass lunacy
in the world, more commonly known as Daylight Savings Time, abbreviated as DST.
For those who are not familiar with the
practice, or live in a state that does not observe Daylight Savings Time the practice is as follows:
Every Spring, people in the affected
areas move their clocks forward one hour. If you change your clock at 7pm, it
would now read as 8pm. It is said that everyone loses an hour of sleep when the
clocks are changed. Many people love this change in the Spring. There are more
daylight hours to be outside after work, be active, do the things they want to
do. However, in the mornings, when the alarm clock goes off at 7am, it is
really 6am, with a time system you used just 24 hours ago.
Then again in the fall, the people in the
affected areas move their clocks backwards one hour. Remember the hour of sleep
we were supposed to have lost in the Spring? You now get it back in the fall.
People normally hate this part of Daylight Savings Time. The U.S. is moving
into winter, which means that the time of daylight gets fewer and fewer every
day. It seems ironic that it is known as Daylight Savings Time when it is
completely dark outside at 5pm.
How did this practice of Daylight Savings Time come to be in the
first place? Growing up in the state of Indiana, we were told the all too
popular myth that it was to help farmers harvest their crops. However, the
practice really began in Europe, during the First World War. Lamp oil needed to
be rationed for the war effort. To save on fuel, countries set their clocks
ahead an hour, so they would not use as much lamp oil in the evenings.
In looking at this map of the world, the half
of the world in green currently observes Daylight Savings Time. The other half of the world, depicted in
white, does not.
In the years since its inception in the U.S., The
state of Indiana chose to opt out of participating in daylight savings time.
I had heard of daylight savings time in those years, but never knew truly how changing the time on a clock could affect anyone.
I had heard of daylight savings time in those years, but never knew truly how changing the time on a clock could affect anyone.
Then the year 2006 came along. Mitch
Daniels was the governor of Indiana at the time. He proposed that Indiana join
the Daylight Savings Time practice, putting us on par with the East Coast. You
see, we would then have the same time zone as New York, the location of Wall
Street, the financial capital of the U.S. We could do business with the coast,
and no one would have to look at the clock and guess which time zone Indiana
was in. The matter went to the legislators of the state of Indiana. In their
January session, they approved the measure. Thus the great state of Indiana
began to observe Daylight Savings Time.
Growing up, I never had to think about
the time change. Indiana did not participate in in DST. I never heard any
comments about it, positive or negative, because we didn’t do it in my state.
I remember the day Daylight Savings Time
began in Indiana in 2006. The time change took place at 2am Sunday morning.
(Frankly I have never understood why it is 2am and not midnight. But I
digress.) I only remember this so vividly because
I was working that day. I was due at 12 noon that day. My crew of co-workers was to arrive at 1pm that day. A couple of them showed up at 2pm. They had forgotten all about the change to Daylight Savings Time.
I was working that day. I was due at 12 noon that day. My crew of co-workers was to arrive at 1pm that day. A couple of them showed up at 2pm. They had forgotten all about the change to Daylight Savings Time.
Before Indiana changed to Daylight
Savings Time, I noticed that my body changed in the winter. The lack of sunlight in the wintertime gives me a marked lack of
energy, an increase in appetite, and a decrease in mood. I believe that is why I like Christmas lights so much. They literally brighten up the world in the darkest time of the year, the time we need it the most.
In those winter months, I found I would wake from sleep completely exhausted. I would try to get to bed all the earlier the next night; however, I would get more hours of sleep yet awake the next morning feeling the same exhaustion as the day before. I later learned that these are some of the symptoms of what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, often abbreviated as SAD.
In those winter months, I found I would wake from sleep completely exhausted. I would try to get to bed all the earlier the next night; however, I would get more hours of sleep yet awake the next morning feeling the same exhaustion as the day before. I later learned that these are some of the symptoms of what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, often abbreviated as SAD.
I am lucky in that in the last few years,
my Seasonal Affective Disorder has not been a huge factor for me anymore. I seem to
have a similar condition known as the Winter Blues, abbreviated as WB. With the
Winter Blues, the symptoms are not as severe as with Seasonal Affective
Disorder.
However, now that Indiana observes
Daylight Savings Time, I go through the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder
twice a year. The simple change of time on a clock affects my body physically
for months. I have suffered the effects of the time change for up to four months afterwards.
In researching Daylight Savings Time, it seems I am not the only one affected by the time change. Observing DST can adversely affect one's health. The
body’s internal clock, known as the circadian clock, is greatly affected during this change. Scientists now say that the body never
truly adjusts during the change in time.
However, more than altering with our
body’s time clock, the effects of changing clocks twice a year can be deadly. There
is a significant rise in heart attacks, strokes, car accidents (both between cars and
pedestrians), accidents in the workplace, and suicides.
*source: http://wedontneeddst.com/
In our modern
world, the ideas and reasoning put into the planning of Daylight Savings Time
are obsolete. Our power is supplied to us by power companies. The field of
renewable power is growing by the day, from wind and solar energy sources. We
do not need to conserve fuel for the war effort.
It is shown that in the fall months, with less and less daylight, more energy is used to power our homes and businesses. Energy usage can surge up to 4%, resulting in a complete contradiction to the idea of Daylight Savings Time itself. Carbon emissions also rise in this time, which contributes to global warming. The end result of higher power and energy to heat and light our homes costs Americans $434 million every year.
It is shown that in the fall months, with less and less daylight, more energy is used to power our homes and businesses. Energy usage can surge up to 4%, resulting in a complete contradiction to the idea of Daylight Savings Time itself. Carbon emissions also rise in this time, which contributes to global warming. The end result of higher power and energy to heat and light our homes costs Americans $434 million every year.
*sources: http://wedontneeddst.com/
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2008/03/09/why_daylight_saving_time_is_bad_for_the_environment.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2008/03/09/why_daylight_saving_time_is_bad_for_the_environment.html
In the field of
modern business and commerce, business is run on the internet. The World Wide
Web is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Companies in other states do not
need to be in the same time zone to conduct business.
All in all,
there are 70 countries around that observe Daylight Savings Time in one form or
another. However, that is roughly a third of the world. From the bottom
of my heart, I wish that the United States did not observe Daylight Savings
Time.
However, I have discovered that there are parts of the U.S. that do not observe it, including Arizona, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I could move there. I have always wanted to live in a warmer climate. That would certainly decrease my energy costs.
However, I have discovered that there are parts of the U.S. that do not observe it, including Arizona, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I could move there. I have always wanted to live in a warmer climate. That would certainly decrease my energy costs.
Tonight the
majority of Americans fall under the spell. We will set our clocks an hour back. We will go to sleep believing it is one
time; we will wake up tomorrow thinking it is another.
I hope we will one day wake from our slumber, come to our collective senses, and abolish the practice of Daylight Savings Time.
Until then, I remain hopeful that we will one day acknowledge the reality of the harm this is doing to our bodies and to the planet, and abolish this practice.
I am confident this will happen. It is only a matter of time.
I hope we will one day wake from our slumber, come to our collective senses, and abolish the practice of Daylight Savings Time.
Until then, I remain hopeful that we will one day acknowledge the reality of the harm this is doing to our bodies and to the planet, and abolish this practice.
I am confident this will happen. It is only a matter of time.
"This is one of those human arrogances -- that we can do whatever we want as long as we are disciplined. We forget that there is a biological clock that is as old as living organisms, a clock that cannot be fooled. The pure social change of time cannot fool the clock."
-Til Roenneberg, Ludwig-Maximilians-University
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4509150&page=1
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4509150&page=1
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