Sping Those Clocks Ahead by One Hour...

Daylight saving time is also called summer time or daylight savings time. When DST is not observed, it is called standard time, normal time or winter time. 

Since 2007, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November, with all time changes taking place at 2:00 A.M. local time.

In 2012, daylight saving time began on March 11 and ended on November 4. In 2013, daylight saving time begins on March 10 and ends on November 3. In 2014, DST will begin on March 9 and end on November 2.^[2]

Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time (DST), the exceptions being Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation, which does observe daylight saving time),^[1] Hawaii,^[2] and the overseas territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

Some answers to questions to ponder as you change your clocks:

1. Who dreamed up Daylight Saving Time in the first place?

 Ben Franklin!  However, the idea didn’t catch on till WWI and then as a way to save on energy, but it lasted only for a few years. We didn’t return to it until WWII and then dropped it again in peacetime, although some states decided to keep DST, making things really confusing.

So in 1966, Congress did something smart for a change and passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized Daylight Saving Time. However, during the energy crisis in 1974 and 1975, Congress moved up the start of DST to January and then February. Finally the Energy Policy Act of 2005 set the new start of DST as beginning in March.

2. Does DST save energy?

Not really, since now we turn our lights on earlier in the dark mornings while turning them on late in the day as darkness arrives later. It all evens out over the course of the day, just as if we never fiddled with our clocks in the first place. But it sure makes everyone feel better.

3. Why do we do switch to DST in the middle of the night at 2 a.m.?

Sunday was chosen because most people do not work on Sundays so the change impacts the fewest people. The idea behind 2 a.m. believe it or not was for convenience. 

Convenience? is that most people are home and can turn their clocks ahead then if they want to, and early morning church goers or shift workers would not be impacted as they would have been if DST started later in the day. 

Most folks just move their clocks ahead the next morning. There are those oblivious souls who have no idea of the time change till they miss a big game on TV or are late for Sunday dinner with the in-laws.

4. Do all 50 states go on Daylight Saving Time?

Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time (DST), the exceptions being Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation, which does observe daylight saving time),^[1] Hawaii,^[2] and the overseas territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

5. Do farmers like it?

Not particularly, since they say it confuses the farm animals, particularly cows, which are used to being fed, milked and tended to at certain times.

6. Does the rest of the world use DST?

It depends where in the world you are. Talk about a Tower of Babel. Figuring out the time shift around the globe is like tackling a Clock of Babble.

For instance, Australia’s Lord Howe Island only uses a half hour shift. And different countries have experimented with twenty-minute shifts or as long as two hours.

7. What are the drawbacks to DST?

A 2008 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found a 5.1% increase in heart attacks in moving to DST, but no adverse effects were found by moving the clock back an hour in the fall.

And two 2009 Journal of Applied Psychology studies showed that workplace accidents in construction and mining jumped by 5.7% the first day back to work after the clocks move forward.

8. Does everyone like DST?

Nope, and there is a petition drive on the “We the People” White House website to have it eliminated, claiming that studies have shown the time change is a health risk [see #7], leading to a loss in productivity. Plus the petitioners say DST is “really annoying.” So far not enough people have signed it to make it eligible to be considered by the President.

Now that you know facts and stats of Daylight Saving Time, you are all ready for the big moment this Sunday, the unofficial welcome of spring. Spring those clocks ahead by one hour.