Beech Tree News Network

Next weekend, we will set our clocks forward one hour, and Daylight Saving Time will begin. Some of us like having an additional hour of daylight in the evening, while some of us don’t like a time change at all.

Daylight Saving Time was introduced in the United States in 1918 during World War I and brought back during World War II (http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/history.html). Since its introduction, the practice has come and gone; at times, it was followed in some areas, but not others. Over 70 countries now use Daylight Saving Time, but the start and end dates differ by country. The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time is to make better use of daylight during the warm-weather months. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. In the U.S., Daylight Saving Time begins in March and reverts to standard time in November.

Many people have opinions about Daylight Saving Time. Two comments are listed below (http://www.todayinsci.com/QuotationsCategories/D_Cat/DaylightSavingTime-...):

     - An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later. – Winston Churchill

     - Daylight Saving Time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket. – Anonymous

 I asked friends and family about their thoughts regarding Daylight Saving Time and have listed their responses below:

     - I like it.

     - I love Daylight Saving Time. I like that extra light in the afternoon. It allows me to do more outside, and it gives me more daylight for outside sports photos.

     - I dislike when the days get shorter. And, I dislike losing an hour of my precious sleep! So, I guess I dislike it.

     - I hate it. It doesn’t help. There are studies (http://m.livescience.com/50068-daylight-saving-time-heart-attacks.html) that show more deaths due to heart attacks after springing forward. I vote we set it forward and leave it alone.

     - I don’t like changing because it gets so dark so early during parts of the year.

     - I like it because of extra light at night. I don’t care if it is later for the sun to rise. I’d like to stay on it permanently and forget about standard time.

     - The only instances when time change mattered to me were when I worked night shift. In the spring, it meant getting to leave an hour early; in the fall, we worked an extra hour. Timed charting entries sometimes looked confusing on those shifts.

     - I only like it when it brings more daylight hours.

     - I would prefer for Daylight Saving Time to last all year round. I hate it when it gets dark so early.

     - Love Daylight Saving Time! I love the longer days and wish we stayed on it all year.

     - Honestly, I wish that we left the clocks alone. Either way, it doesn’t change how many hours of daylight we get in 24 hours, and it always messes with our household’s sleeping pattern – dogs and humans – when we change the clocks. 

     - Dislike Daylight Saving Time. I would rather it stayed the same as in the summer all the time. I do not like it getting dark so soon after work every day! I would rather go to work in the dark.

     - I like it because I sometimes get to see the light of day.

     - Can we keep just one time?

     - I like and dislike it! I like that it stays light later in the evening so there is more outside time after work and school; but, I dislike the dark mornings. It makes it hard to wake up early. I really love the long days of summer most of all.

     - I do not like it. My daddy would say I like being on real time, according to the sun. Being farmers, our clock was based on the time between dawn and dark. So, I like real time, according to Daddy.

     - I always liked Daylight Saving Time when I was farming. I’m indifferent now.

     - I do like it. I like it staying daylight later so we can enjoy doing more activities outside in the evenings.

     - I like it mostly. I wish we stayed on it year round! I like the daylight later in the evenings, making it cooler to be outside.

     - I do like Daylight Saving Time, yes!  I am usually at work from 7 until 5; so, when I get home at 5:30, I love when it’s still daylight. Makes me happy!

      - I love Daylight Saving Time because my family enjoys being outside in the evenings. When it is dark by 5, I want to go to bed by 7.

 In a 2013 Time article, Charlotte Alter described Daylight Saving Time as a “relic from the past” (http://nation.time.com/2013/11/01/daylight-savings-time-time-explains/). But, based on the replies above, opinions regarding Daylight Saving Time are pretty well divided. Maybe that’s why it’s still on our calendars.