On the second of November this year, the clocks will be set an hour backward. A normal occurrence marking the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST). DST was an idea first introduced by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, when he noticed the time on his clock did not match up with the Sun and decided that it was a tremendous waste of candles and supplies, so he suggested it to save money. However, he meant this in a satirical way. It wasn’t seriously established in the United States until 1918, where Americans did so to save on fuel costs during the first world war and add an “extra hour” to the day.
In our current day and age, we no longer have this concern. Yet DST is still observed in many states, for saving energy consumption, and maximizing summer sunlight hours. Students have their own view on this, though.
When asked how DST affects her, sophomore Natalia Flores said, “Daylight saving time has impacted mostly my sleep schedule, by forcing me to have to change and adapt to one schedule when I’m fully adjusted, having to go through the whole cycle of change again.” Flores believes that although DST did once have an important purpose it doesn’t make much of a difference for energy consumption now, and being without it could be overall easier for individuals.
Research back up Flores’s viewpoint on this, such as a California Energy Commission study, that found DST extension had no effect on energy consumption, and a 1997 study in Kansas, that shows that energy consumption increased, the unpreferred outcome, slightly.
Although not much use for its original purpose, DST does still have a positive impact. Flores claims, “Helpful changes to daylight saving time would most likely include being able to adjust to people’s schedules and needs.”
Along with this is the fact that we will get an hour extra of sleep since the clocks are going back an hour. Students could benefit from the extra time.
Whatever your opinion on daylight saving time, be sure to adjust to this year’s change in time. For some, this will be an easy feat. For others, it may be a disruption in their schedule. I wish you the best for the rest of your school year regardless, and for any following daylight-saving times
