By Steffen Klenk
This coming Saturday, most of the country will mark the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) by moving our clocks forward by one hour. While we lose an hour of sleep in this process, the reward of longer days and later sunsets are on the horizon. This ‘time-honored’ tradition has been observed for well over a century.
In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical letter to the Journal of Paris entitled ‘An Economical Project for Diminishing the Light.’ In his letter, he coined this phrase: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Franklin praised the benefits of waking up early and taking advantage of natural sunlight to save money on candles and oil for lamps. His proposal wasn’t taken seriously at the time.
It wasn’t until over a century later that his theory was adopted. William Willet, a prominent builder, outdoorsman and avid golfer, conceived his proposal for Daylight Saving Time in the early 1900s. He suggested moving clocks ahead by eighty minutes over the course of the summer, so that people could take advantage of the increased daylight.
At the height of World War I, the concept of ‘summer time’ became more widespread throughout the European continent. Germany became the first country to implement DST in April 1916, to combat coal shortages and blackouts. One month later, the United Kingdom followed suit.
Two years later, in 1918, in effort to conserve fuel and other natural resources, the U.S. Congress adopted the Standard Time Act. The proposal was not popular at the time. Even farmers had lobbied against the proposal, as it would have meant less time in the morning to harvest crops and get milk, and the law was abolished. A similar DST measure enacted during the height of World War II, between 1942 and 1945.
In 1966, the Uniform Time Act was passed by Congress, which paved the way for a permanent national Daylight Saving Time spanning the country. To date, there are only two states that do not observe this biannual tradition. Hawaii does not partake in Daylight Saving, in large part because of the islands’ proximity to the equator, resulting in little change in daylight throughout the year. The State of Arizona adopted the use of a year-round standard time in 1968.
In recent years, several efforts have been made to abolish the longstanding practice. In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would have created a permanent Daylight Saving Time throughout the country. However, the bill was not voted on in the House of Representatives. Recent studies have shown that 62% of Americans would prefer to stop changing clocks twice a year, but many do not agree on any long-term, permanent solution.
Even still, the benefits of daylight saving often get overlooked. The subtle time change in March extends the amount of sunlight throughout the spring and summer months, resulting in increased mood, activity, and production of Vitamin D. Longer daylight hours have also been shown to have better outcomes on productivity. Additional studies have shown that increased sunlight has resulted in a decrease in crime and auto-related accidents.
There is no argument that Daylight Saving Time affects daily life for better or for worse. While we may lose an hour of sleep this weekend, it is a small price to pay for the longer days that await this summer. As for the future, only time will tell if any new or permanent proposals may come. For now, we will keep ‘watch’ and await the warm weather that is to come.
