Each spring, the time springs forward, and each fall, the time falls back. This November 5th, we got an extra hour of sleep, but in return, the sun also now sets before 5:00 PM. Daylight saving is practiced in all states, with the exception of Arizona and Hawaii, but the reverse should be true; daylight savings should be banished in all states. Daylight saving is pointless and here are the reasons why.
In 1895, Railway Financer and politician George Hudson proposed a two-hour shift each October and March. Its purpose was to use as much daylight as possible and minimize the amount of fuel used on artificial light. Now, is this as much of a necessity in modern times? In the United States in the year 2023, the answer is no. There is no fuel or electricity shortage, and most Americans don’t have jobs that require or benefit from one hour of extra daylight.
In July of 2022, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults. Through this survey, they found that “63 percent support the elimination of seasonal time changes in favor of a national, fixed, year-round time, and only 11 percent oppose it.” More than 60 percent of adults believe daylight savings should be abolished, so it should be as soon as possible.
Besides all of the points stated above, there are several reasons why daylight savings is hated at an individual level. Each time the time changes, everyone has to go through a tedious process of changing their clocks. No one can seem to remember if the sun is rising earlier or later either. Also, every time the clock is switched, the sun starts setting at a very odd time such as 5 or 10 o’clock. Daylight savings is not only complicated and confusing, but it is also difficult to adjust to and unnecessary. I’m sure we can all agree that we as a society could live without it.
While it is true that we gain an hour of sleep every November, for every hour we earn, we also lose an hour during the spring. Sleep is a very significant part of our lives, and a new sleep schedule has a greater impact on one’s health and safety than one might think. According to the Oxford Sleep Research Society, there was an 18 percent increase in human error-related medical events following the “spring forward” clock change. Additionally, when a total of 30,097 people were surveyed in a Canadian survey, there was a 115.2% increase in difficulty falling asleep and a 64% increase in difficulty staying asleep. This led to a 102.8% increase in daytime tiredness and a 34% increase in sleep dissatisfaction.
Daylight Savings was created with good intentions, and it was an excellent idea for the 19th century. But in 2023, it does more harm than good. Considering all of its negatives and the problems that daylight saving causes for people, daylight saving should be abolished.
