Daylight Saving? More Like Daylight Losing

It is first period and you are sitting in Algebra II finding yourself unable to stop yawning. Your eyelids are growing heavier and heavier until you feel your head quickly drop. All of sudden, Mr. Mathteacher yells your name and tells you, “I’m tired too, but you have to stay with me.” You try to stay awake, but nothing is working. You are usually wide awake during Mr. Mathteacher’s incredibly interesting notes about exponential functions and logarithms, so why is today any different? Then it hits you – you had to set your clock forward one hour.

You lost one whole hour, one crucial hour of sleep that is messing with your ability to function and focus. With the warmer weather and the longer nights comes the dreadful reason why we lose one hour from our day: daylight saving time (DST). On March 13, almost everyone in the United States was required to spring forward an hour and change our clocks.

It all started in 1784 when Benjamin Franklin first introduced the idea as a way to make better use of natural daylight so they could use fewer candles. It was first initiated in the U.S. during World War I when President Woodrow Wilson tried to sign it into law. It did not stick around, and many cities and regions were able to choose whether or not they wanted to use DST. Now, DST is a worldwide system, and many countries abide by it. So while DST leaves us all feeling tired and drowsy while we try to adjust to a new schedule, keep in mind that it is not just a mindless scam, but it brings us brighter nights and warmer weather.