When The Clock Strikes Two

I’m about to reclaim the precious hour I so reluctantly gave up last spring. Ahhh.

I can sleep longer on Sunday morning because daylight saving time (DST) ends on Sunday. Clocks turn back an hour at 2:00AM on November 6. Actually, for me that means turning them back before going to bed on Saturday night.

Many people dislike having to mess with resetting numerous clocks twice a year (spring forward, fall back). Wristwatches, alarm clocks and most older household clocks need to be reset manually. Computers, smart phones and newer digital devices do it automatically.

Moving back to standard time means lighter morning hours at least until Thanksgiving, but darker hours at the end of the workday.

DST is controversial. Some hate it because it disrupts schedules, decreases workplace productivity and messes with sleep patterns. Farmers are not in favor of it, while retailers and sports lovers endorse the idea. There is some evidence that heart attacks increase with the start of DST but traffic fatalities decrease. The most positive aspect of DST seems to be the extended daylight hours during summer.

DST originated during WWI to preserve natural resources – save fuel by reducing artificial lighting. The US adopted it in 1918, but repealed it in 1919. During WWII, 1942 to 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called “War Time.” After the war, states and cities were free to choose on their own whether to adopt DST and when to stop and start it. This proved to be chaotic for the transportation and broadcasting industries. At one point in the early 1960’s, a bus traveling from Moundsville, W.V. to Steubenville, Ohio went through seven different time changes.

In 1974, President Nixon implemented the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act allowing DST to be observed all year, however an increased number of morning school bus accidents reversed the decision. The current system of changing at 2:00AM did not become standardized until 1986. In 2007 Congress voted to further extend DST – starting three weeks earlier (second Sunday in March) and ending one week later (first Sunday in November).

Approximately 70 countries in the world observe Daylight Saving. Japan, India, China, areas of Africa and countries close to the Equator do not. Not all fifty states observe it either – Arizona (except for the Navajo Indian Reservation) and Hawaii do not.

Whatever side of the Daylight Saving issue you fall on, unless you want to be late for an appointment or miss church or the farmer's market on Sunday morning, don’t forget to turn back your clocks.

Me? I wish I could turn my clock back one hour every night.