Time jumped forward an hour this Sunday in response to daylight saving time, and if you’re here at USF St. Petersburg today, you likely noticed. Or you showed up at your 8 a.m. class at 9.
Daylight saving time has been around for nearly 100 years, as Woodrow Wilson signed it into law in 1918, according to The Atlantic. It probably isn’t going away for a while.
But we wish it would.
In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote about daylight saving time in his essay “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light,” suggesting it would save a “considerable number of candles,” according to The Chicago Tribune.
Saving electricity is both good for our wallets and the our environment. But daylight saving doesn’t save us as much electricity as you may think.
In 2006, a study looked at electricity use in Indiana, a state that just started implementing daylight saving time. The study found that the electricity saved was actually negated by additional air conditioning and heating use, and in some cases, more electricity was used, according to The Atlantic.
It’s nice to be up during hours when the sun is shining. But as summer gets closer, the days get longer, especially in Florida. It seems that daylight saving time is not fulfilling its original purpose.
It also takes a hit on the economy. Every Monday after daylight saving happens, sleepy workers show up to their jobs and, due to lack of sleep, are unproductive. The Atlantic says this lack of productivity costs the American economy about $434 million a year.
We’re sipping our coffee right now, trying to stay awake. And we’re not sure the change is worth all that money.
We can’t ignore all the bizarre reports about daylight savings toll on our bodies. A 2014 study in the journal Open Heart reported that heart attacks increase by 24 percent the Monday after the time change.
It may sound ridiculous, but daylight saving is messing with our sleep. And most of us are already sleep deprived enough. People sleep an average of 40 minutes less after the time change, according to The Chicago Tribune.
A September 2009 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that American workers are more prone to injury the Monday following the time change.
Sleep matters. Daylight saving is an argument that may last for years, as it already has. We argue that it should go away, but while it’s still here, we need to be responsible for our health. So be sure to go to bed a little earlier than you normally would, and be alert in the workplace and the roads. Your body will thank you.
