Another Year of Daylight Savings

Every winter there's a gloominess experienced around the U.S. Seasonal depression exists in many people's lives as darkness comes early each night. This is coming to an end as it's now March, and shortly we’ll get to experience the sun later in the evening. That comes with a price: we are waking up in darkness. Daylight savings along with falling back, has been proven to be related to negative health repercussions. On the contrary, there have also been some scientifically proven benefits. Is this semiannual shift critical to the human experience, or is it an unhealthy change?

The History 

Daylight Savings was introduced by Ben Franklin in the 1700s, but it first was put into practice during World War I. This was a wartime measure as an attempt to save electricity. The intention was that saving daylight encourages more outdoor time. States can opt out of participating in daylight saving time, although Hawaii and Arizona are the only two who have.

Related Health Problems and Symptoms 

As daylight savings begins the body’s circadian rhythm is interrupted. Awareness, focus and judgment are quickly affected. According to Webmd.com, “Our internal clocks regulate processes including liver function, the immune system, and our body’s physiology, which means any disruption can have significant effects.'' Some measures can be taken in order to keep our bodies healthy such as waking up an hour earlier the week before the clocks are set forward, so the one hour difference isn't a big adjustment. As well as making a point to get to bed at the same time, despite the sun setting later. Also, when the clocks are set back, there has been a proven increase in depression symptoms by eleven percent. According to Timeanddinate.com, “Losing an hour of afternoon daylight after setting the clocks back to standard time can trigger mental illness, including bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression.” Seasonal affective disorder, or “seasonal depression,” is experienced by twenty percent of adults. It's safe to say even with the lack of sun in wintertime, an extra hour of daylight may lead to some improvements.

Pros of the Time Change

It's hard to argue that the health problems as a result of daylight savings aren't significant; however, there are some positives. As previously mentioned, energy is saved during the time change. As the sun shines later in the evening there is less of a need for lighting hardware. Similarly, in the morning, many people will be waking up to the rising sun, therefore, other lighting is unnecessary. Dispatch.com states, “In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy studied the impact of the extended daylight saving time on energy consumption and found that the extra four weeks saved about 0.5% in total electricity per day(…)it added up to electricity savings of 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours — or the amount of electricity used by more than 100,000 households for an entire year.” The statistics clearly display the very extensive savings from just one less hour of electricity. An unexpected and unbelievable statistic relates to a deceased crime rate. As reported by dispatch.com, “Robberies drop about 7 percent after the annual shift to daylight saving time.” Since most crime is committed in the dark, this reduction happens because of the extended daylight, as it is easier for bystanders to notice the offenses. These societal improvements are valid points in favor of the time change.

Many know nothing other than setting the clocks forward in spring and back in the fall. Nevertheless, people struggle with the changes each year. The pros and cons are definitely compelling, but neither one outways the other. In order to be in favor of one side something is compromised: people's mental health, energy savings, or crime rates. The difficulty of this decision is a reason to believe that this debate is far from over. As for now, in just a couple days, once again we will get to start off the warmer months with an extra hour of sunlight in the afternoon.