Once again, Daylight Saving Time will affect our daily lives. Tonight, we need to set our clocks back an hour. As much as I like the extra hour on the weekend, I can’t help but wonder why we’re still doing this. There seem to be no real reasons, only tradition. I don’t know if anyone would miss Daylight Savings if it ended. Some people claim there are benefits, but they seem to be cancelled out or even outweighed by the inconvenience and disadvantages. There is controversy about the supposed benefits, too. Some people say it saves energy, but others say it actually increases energy usage. Some say it lowers heart attack risk when we turn our clocks back, but increases it when we turn them forward.
It’s an inconvenience to run all over your home, changing the time on everything. I know I often forget at least one time-displaying item, and then might get confused about the real time. I almost always forget to change the clock in my car, and when I remember, it’s a hassle to do it (it won’t go back, so I have to advance it 11 hours). I’m sure at least one person reading this has forgotten to change the time and arrived to work an hour early or late the next day. That is not only embarrassing, but it could have a very bad effect on one’s employment status!
It’s a concern for those on medications, as some are very time sensitive. Everyone who takes certain ones has to decide if they should continue on the original schedule (and risk taking it at the ‘old’ time accidentally), or if they should use the same time on the clock and risk having unwanted reactions or side effects from doing so.
Of course, almost everyone has to adjust to the change, which creates an imbalance between the time on our clocks and the time our body is anticipating. While we are adjusting our bodies to the changes in the clock, it can cause more accidents related to sleepiness. This would be particularly dangerous for people who work in the medical field (for the patients), as well as for those who drive for work (either commuting, or as part of their actual employment). The last thing we need on the road is people who are sleepier!
Also, if you do business with someone in an area that doesn’t observe the Daylight Saving Time or a country that changes their clocks on a different day, it can create confusion.
So, again the question arises. Why do we continue to change our clocks twice a year? It seems it’s purely out of habit. I read in one article: “More than 63,000 people have signed a petition sponsored by the DST-hating website standardtime.com. A search on Change.org returns 1,466 petitions mentioning Daylight Saving Time, most of which appear to support abolishing it.”
I propose we either pick one time or the other, or just move the time half an hour and leave it!
I was so glad not to be working my usual 12hr night shift this past weekend. Whew, I dodged a bullet there! Working that extra hour is tough, take it from someone who has done it.