Time to Fall Back

Don't forget to turn your clocks BACK an HOUR this evening before you hit the sack.
We gain an extra hour of sleep!! Hoorahhh!!!

Just remember this: 'Spring Ahead and Fall Back' to help you remember when Daylight Saving Time occurs.
Every first Sunday of November each year, at 2:00 a.m, we turn our clocks back an hour which thus changes our clocks back to the Standard Time. One of the of reasons behind Daylight Saving Time is that it will essentially allow less energy to be used by buildings and homes in order to take advantage of the longer daylight hours, which was first established during World War. This helped save energy for coal and war production by taking advantage of the longer daylight hours from April though October. After World War II, the the government still required the States to use Daylight Saving Time however, did cause confusion due some states and communities not accepting the time change. Due to this, in 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized Daylight Saving Time (DST).

Blue: DST Observed
Orange: DST No Longer Observed
Red: DST Never Observed

Other then the U.S., many other countries have been using Daylight Saving Time since the late 1800s. Although it is quite nice to gain an hour of sleep during the Fall and Winter because Lord knows, most of the population does not get enough sleep (yes, I do pride myself on making it paramount that I receive my 8 hours of sleep each night), the DST is still quite a controversial issue. Additional sunlight in the Spring and Summer months add that extra sunlight benefit to agriculture, sports, and outside activities. As mentioned early on, one of the main goals of DST was to be able to reduce the usage of evening electricity.
However, if not on top of the time change, we all know that it can make an otherwise quite pleasant day, turn upside down; running late or arriving too early, disruption in travel and such. Thankfully today, most electronic devices; computers and cell phones have a coded program within that will automatically change, once the time change comes around.
The modern thought is that ancient civilizations adjusted the daily schedules and such based on the sun, in order to be more flexible was thought to be modern and convenient then today's DST. This was done by dividing the daylight into 12 hour increments disregarding the length of day such that each daylight hour becomes longer towards the summer.
According to one of my favorite proverbs, author Benjamin Franklin wrote, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." This was published to suggest settlers to economize using candles by rising earlier to use the morning sunlight and use less candle light.

Something cool: considering the season transition in the Northern Hemisphere is towards the colder seasons, and the seasons transitions in the Southern Hemisphere are towards the warmer seasons, the beginning and ending dates for DST are the reverse for the Southern Hemisphere.

Although having that extra hour of sunlight during the warmer months is beneficial to our health which additional Vitamin D can help boost the immune system. However, increased exposure could lead to an increase rick in skin cancer cases. Changing the time disrupts sleep. Getting the body back on a sleeping pattern could take weeks to adjust. A Swedish study in 2008 found that heart attacks were significantly more common the first few weeks after the spring transition, and were significantly less common following the fall time transition. Ergo there is the link between sleep and health...I think more people should heed Franklin's proverb!
Why can't we just leave the clocks the way they are now. Just throw DST out. I guess it is just the way things are and have been for years and we just need to adjust.

Now, don't forget to chance your clocks!

~ V.S.