Spring Forward: Time to Reset Your Clock

Spring Forward: Time to Reset Your Clock 

Soon all Marylanders – and for that matter, all Americans except those in Hawaii and Arizona – will be asked to ‘Spring Forward” into Daylight Saving Time. 

Daylight saving time in the United States is the practice of setting the clock forward by one hour when there is longer daylight during the day, so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less. 

Although the concept was suggested by others, including a joking reference by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, Daylight Saving Time (DST) was first legislated by Germany in 1916, two years into World War I. It was adopted to minimize the use of artificial lighting and save fuel for the war effort. Most of Europe followed but reverted to Standard Time after the war. World War II saw the permanent return of DST. 

Officially, 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 10th is when we will move our clocks forward an hour and get a little less sleep. Many prefer to make the change just before bedtime on Saturday, March 9th. 

The country’s time zones, and Daylight Saving Time, are under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation. As early as 1918, there was DST in the United States, but it was not uniform across the country until the Uniform Time Act in 1966. Currently the Energy Policy Act of 2005 establishes the beginning and end of DST for all states but Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation). The territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe DST. Interestingly, federal law allows a state to exempt itself from observing daylight saving time, upon action by the state legislature, but does not allow the permanent observance of DST. 

As you can imagine, there are many issues – pro and con – surrounding this policy.  

• According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, DST, which adds an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the days from March 12th to November 5th, reduces traffic accidents and crime in the dark and provides people with more time for evening outdoor activities in the seasons with the best weather.  
• The counter argument points to circadian rhythms disruptions, health issues and increased incidents of heart attacks, strokes, fatal car crashes, and workplace injuries immediately after the transition to DST in March and then again at the time of transition back to Standard time in November.  
• Permanent Standard Time might allow for better sleep because there would be more morning light and less evening light in the Spring and Summer. However, more fuel would be used for evening artificial lighting. 
• Permanent Daylight Saving Time would mean that Winter mornings stay dark much longer, particularly in the western parts of each time zone. More fuel would be used for morning artificial lighting. 

The very human trait of being opposed to change seems to be the main complaint. Many want a standard time year-round whether Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time, but we can’t seem to agree on which.