Daylight saving time stretches from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November in most of the US states. Hawaii, Arizona and the US territories do not observe daylight saving time. The time change occurs at 2:00 a.m. which in essence makes the clock go from 1:59 to 3:00 in the spring and 1:59 to 1:00 in the fall. There have been advantages and disadvantages of daylight saving time ever since Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea.
Advantages
Daylight saving time saves money by saving energy. When it is spring time and we trade an hour of daylight at the end of the day for an hour of it in the morning it is more efficient. So although we get up and it is a little bit darker it is an advantage because it is before the business day begins and electricity demand is not as high. Because of that it saves a little when the lights come on in the morning rather than at 4:30 in the afternoon. Also, most people tend to use the electricity in the hours after work and since there is an extra hour of daylight then that equates to an hour of less lighting.
Increased visibility during daylight saving time helps to increase business revenues, reduce crime and leads to fewer accidents. During daylight saving time when people get off work there is still plenty of daylight left to do a variety of things. This leads to increased traffic for business and more economic activity which is a good thing. Because of the available daylight when running these errands it is easier to see if there is a problem and avoid it when driving. Likewise you will be more likely to see someone following you and avoid potential threats.
Disadvantages
One of the biggest disadvantages of daylight saving time is that it can cause so much confusion. It might not be a big deal for some while it could create havoc for a few. If you don’t have anyone to remind you of daylight saving time it could be easy to miss it. If that happens you could be late for work or some other important meeting. Others don’t realize at what time the change actually occurs so there could also be some complications for a select few in the wee hours of that Sunday morning.
When the time springs ahead one hour we tend to lose an hour of sleep. Although the human body can adapt to change pretty well it is at the least an inconvenience to reset the internal clock to get a full nights sleep again. Some of the elderly or other people with health concerns may find that there are even greater side effects of the time change such as sleep deprivation or complications with medical equipment that may need to be adjusted.
Overall daylight saving time allows for maximum production over the summer months by utilizing the full day of sunlight. People get to take advantage of shopping and leisure activities and have less of a risk to get into an accident or fall victim to a crime. In the end it is important to know when the change is coming so that you are not caught off guard.
