March 9, 2015
Alexander Nedd
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How are you feeling? Slow start to your day? It’s not just you; it’s your body reacting to the sudden loss of an hour of sleep during midterms in college.
You and most of America (minus Arizona and Hawaii), lost an hour of sleep in the name of earning an hour of daylight. As a college kid, hours are precious jewels and the thought of losing one to earn sunlight during a time I could be studying is borderline barbaric.
Daylight saving time has got to go.
The concept of daylight saving time is simple, save energy and increase daylight. Occurring twice a year (spring forward and fall back), the concept was originally adapted after a joke from Benjamin Franklin in 1784 on the issue of conserving candles.
The idea became popular among head officials, notably William Willett who is said to have wanted more time to play golf. Since its introduction, it has reaped benefits, allowing us more hours to enjoy the day and conserve energy such as coal during WWI and WWII.
It was a great concept back then.
But in 2015, time is of the essence and losing an hour can play havoc with our week and our health. Traditions change, and this one desperately needs to be adjusted to meet the standards of today.
We have outgrown the use for daylight saving time. Not only must you fully adjust your natural cycle, you must learn to do this over and over again as you live.
Do we truly save energy? We are a long way from the days when we lit fires and used coal for light and energy. With more shops open for 24 hours, the need to get everything done before nightfall is essentially eliminated.
A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation in the 1970s found that the electricity saved doesn’t offset the rise in air conditioning that comes with. Some argue that more activity at night leads to more consumption of gasoline and therefore no energy saving.
Daylight saving time can also be bad for your health.
According to a study by the American Journal of Cardiology, the Monday following spring forward shows an increase in heart attacks by about 25 percent.
Let that sentence sink in. Someone will die because of daylight saving time.
Other studies show an increase in traffic accidents following the week of daylight saving time due to fatigue and darker roads on morning commutes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the daylight. There is nothing more comforting then hanging out at the park watching the sun set at 9 p.m. on a perfect summer day or getting off work at five and still be able to enjoy four hours of daylight.
But adapt the concept to the whole year. It’s time to save time once and for all. Give me my hour back, I need it.