Damn daylight savings time! Doesn't save me any time. My day begins and ends with the sun regardless of what the hands on the clock say.
Five reasons why it's time to re-think daylight saving time clock change
Clocks will be “falling back” an hour this Sunday, marking the end of daylight saving time (DST) and the beginning of an old debate as to whether the practice should be continued.
Although some people relish the opportunity to gain an extra hour of sleep every fall, many Americans don’t see the necessity in adjusting their clocks — and their schedules — twice a year. With so much opposition to DST, here are a few reasons why it might be time to stop changing the clocks.
1. An unpopular tradition
The main argument against daylight saving time is simple: People don’t like to do it. According to a Rasmussen report from March of 2013, only 37 percent of Americans believe that DST should continue, while 45 percent said that the practice was pointless and was not “worth the hassle.”
2. Farmers
Much of the argument for maintaining DST lies in the belief that the practice is beneficial to farmers. However, the changing hours have little to no effect on the daily tasks required on a farm, according to Hillary Barile, partner at Rabbit Hill Farms, of Shiloh.
“There's still the same number of daylight hours, but I would say this time of year makes it even harder,” said Barile. “We don't have as many evening daylight hours left and you're still constrained by the clock, but now it just gets darker earlier.”
She added, “You don't always know until you get started in the morning what you need to do, so having morning daylight doesn't always make a difference.”
3. Safety concerns
Changing the clocks means waking up and going to bed at different hours, but it can also create a higher risk of traffic accidents for commuters who normally drive home during daylight hours.
A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that drivers unaccustomed to the time differences due to DST are more likely to get into accidents due to disrupted circadian rhythms and insufficient sleep.
"As a society we are chronically sleep-deprived and that small additional losses of sleep may have consequences for public and individual safety," said Dr. Stanley Coren in his report.
4. Health hazards
Changing an individual's schedule by a single hour might not just interrupt their day, but could also be hazardous to their health. Recent studies have linked the beginning and end of DST to a variety of health problems, including an increased risk of heart attacks and a rise in suicide rates.
According to Dr. Sean Duffy, an associate professor of Psychology at Rutgers-Camden, DST is not only a risk to physical health, but it could negatively affect a person's mood. “Falling back” in the winter marks the beginning of early nights, sometimes leading to symptoms of depression.
“The change in DST in fall is also a marker of the end of the summer season and the beginning of winter,” said Duffy. “This can be depressing for those longing for the extravagances of summer.”
5. Interrupted sleeping schedules
Setting clocks back an hour means gaining an extra hour of sleep time. For others who might be more sensitive to time changes, however, going to bed an hour later could cause anything but sweet dreams.
According to Dr. Sean Duffy, an associate professor of Psychology at Rutgers-Camden, time changes could upset a person’s natural sleeping schedule. In some cases, the process of adjusting to “springing forward” and “falling back” can affect learning and memory processes by changing the way that the brain functions.
“Sleep is a critical process for the whole body, helping it repair damage, but particularly for the brain, which consolidates memory and helps us learn,” said Duffy. “Most people can handle the one hour switch of daylight saving time but if you are prone to sleep disorders or insomnia, the change in timing can take some adjustment.”
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