Daylight Saving Time (DST) is an annual practice that is observed in many countries around the world, and it is set to begin again this Sunday, March 12th. The clocks will spring forward one hour at 2 a.m., and we’ll lose that hour of sleep. The tradeoff is that it will start setting after 7 p.m. in Oklahoma for the first time since October.
But why go through the trouble in adjusting clocks and circadian rhythms twice each year? The Uniform Time Act established nationwide standards for the observance of daylight saving time when it was signed into law in 1966. Prior to then, daylight saving time in the United States was not regulated by the federal government, leaving municipalities, cities, and states to decide whether or not to observe the practice, and if so, when it started and ended.
The practice of clock shifting was first suggested in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. The first true proponent of daylight saving time, however, was an English builder named William Willet. In 1907, he published a pamphlet called “The Waste of Daylight” that campaigned for advancing clocks in spring and turning them back in fall. Willet also encouraged people to get out of bed earlier in the summer to make the most of daylight.
Recent polls have found that only 35% of Americans support resetting their clocks every fall and spring, while 59% want to see daylight saving time made permanent. And that sentiment appears to have translated to legislative action. In the past five years, 19 states including Ohio have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation.
If the country were to switch to year-round daylight saving time, Ohio would move to Atlantic Time, the time zone for Puerto Rico, much of the Caribbean and Canada’s Maritime provinces. So, despite what states want, a switch to year-round daylight saving time requires a change in federal law. The U.S. Senate passed a bill last March that would have made daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. beginning this year. But the House of Representatives didn’t take the Sunshine Protection Act up in subsequent months.
It is clear that the practice of daylight saving time has been around for centuries and it is still a contentious issue. Many argue that it is a waste of time, while others believe that it is necessary in order to make the most of the available daylight hours. What is certain is that the debate is likely to continue as states and countries around the world continue to consider the benefits and drawbacks of the practice.
