#78 Daylight Saving Time

I hate Daylight Saving Time. I think it's a terrible idea. Dramatically shifting daylight hours messes with my head in a big way. I hate that it's now dark when I wake up when just two days ago it was light. That shouldn't happen when the days are getting longer. I can deal with gradually increasing and decreasing daylight. Abruptly sliding daylight an hour forward and back just annoys me. I was taught that the idea behind Daylight Saving Time is saving energy. Researchers say that's not necessarily the case. In fact, when Indiana adopted Daylight Saving Time a dozen years ago, energy consumption increased by 1%. And even if we're saving on electricity, studies show that we use more gasoline because we're more likely to go out in the evening when it's light. So Daylight Saving Time isn't saving the planet. The article I linked above says that convenience stores and businesses that sell gardening, home repair, and sports equipment are the ones who lobby hard to keep Daylight Saving Time around.

Now, research shows that there are a couple benefits to Daylight Saving Time. People do go outside more when it's light later, and evening crime is reduced with later daylight. However, there are also a number of drawbacks, some of which are pretty serious. There are more deadly car crashes and workplace injuries after flipping our clocks ahead. Heart attacks are more common after the switch, and sleep deprived judges are a bit harsher with their sentences. I just get irritated, and I'm sure there are others like me. If politicians included eliminating Daylight Saving Time in their platform, I would probably be twice as likely to vote for them.

In the end, I just don't think Daylight Saving Time is necessary. A few years back I spent five months in Malang, Indonesia. Daylight was about 5:30 am to 5:30 pm there. Nobody moved their clocks. They just adjusted their schedules to the daylight. They got up earlier and went to bed earlier than most Americans do. I realize we all can't just shift our work schedules, but we could learn to do some things before work if we wanted to maximize our daylight. With the rise of DVRs, we don't need to worry about being awake when all our TV shows air. Maybe we should just let the light be. Let's stop changing all our old clocks twice a year. Let's leave saving the day to our superheroes. I know that'll make me much happier in early March and November.

Grace and peace,
BMH