13 Things You Didn't Know About Daylight Saving Time
13 Things You Didn't Know About DST
Provided by U.S. News & World Report
As daylight savings begins, Americans will set their clocks ahead by an hour. "Springing forward" creates another hour of sunlight in the evening. It also has some effects on health and public safety that many people are unaware of. Plus, find out the two states that are spared from some potential health issues. Read the gallery below for interesting facts about daylight saving time.
Daylight Saving Time
Provided by U.S. News & World Report
There's a spike of 5% in heart attacks during the first week of daylight saving time, according to another study published last year. The loss of an hour's sleep may make people more susceptible to an attack, some experts say. When daylight saving time ends in the fall, heart attacks briefly become less frequent than usual.
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Two states -- Arizona and Hawaii -- and four U.S. territories -- American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- don't observe daylight saving time. Indiana adopted DST in 2006.
Corbis
Daylight saving time has mixed effects on people's health. Transitions into and out of DST can disturb people's sleeping patterns, for example, and make them more restless at night. Night owls tend to be more bothered by the time changes than people who like mornings, Finnish researchers concluded last year.
Getty Images
People are safer drivers during daylight hours, and researchers have found that DST reduces lethal car crashes and pedestrian strikes. In fact, a study concluded that observing DST year-round would annually prevent about 195 deaths of motor vehicle occupants and about 171 pedestrian fatalities.
jupiterimages
Many other countries observe daylight saving time, but not all do so on the same day. That can create confusion for international travelers, business communications, and more.
Stockbyte
A U.S. law signed by President George W. Bush in 2005 extended the length of daylight saving time by four weeks. It now begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. It ends on the first Sunday in November.
AP
Daylight saving can also cause confusion close to home. In March 2007, a Pennsylvania honor student was mistakenly accused of threatening his school with a bomb. He had actually called an automated line to get info about scheduled classes. Someone else made the bomb threat an hour later.
Comstock
The effect of DST on energy use has changed over time and varies from place to place. Experts even disagree on whether DST still saves the nation energy. But so many people like to "spring forward" that it might be hard for officials to end the tradition, even if they determined it's wasteful.
C.J. Gunther, AP
Daylight saving time was first used during World War I, as part of an effort in the United States and other warring countries to conserve fuel. In theory, using daylight more efficiently saves fuel and energy because it reduces the nation's need for artificial light.
EyeWire
The first American to advocate for daylight saving was Benjamin Franklin. He realized in 1784 that many people burned candles at night yet slept past dawn in the summer, wasting early-morning sunlight.
AP Photo, AP
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hurnda 02:03:22 PM Mar 08 2009
I would like to see DST go up for a vote. Personally, I think it makes more sense for businesses to have Summer or Winter business hours as appropriate. Work during the day light hours and allow people to get the extra needed rest during winter that our biological bodies need.
Jeffreyhmorse 01:53:36 PM Mar 08 2009
I hate DST - I have no idea why politicians insist on keeping it (and thanks to GWB it got extended by four weeks in 2005). I don't know anyone who likes it - especially in the Spring. Takes me a month to get my sleep schedule back on track to where I don't feel tired and in the summer in Central California it so hot so late in the day because of it. If it gets dark an hour sooner you don't run the air conditioner as much after work. The energy savings are a myth.
DJ7718 01:47:36 PM Mar 08 2009
Its stupid and confusing. There will always be enough daylight for everyone!
LyricalHitmakers 01:38:36 PM Mar 08 2009
WellIt doesn't change what is happening at Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine.http://lyricalpassionpoetry.page.tl We still have more than enough time to find talented writers and winners!Personally, I like sleeping longer.-Editor
SDaven5191 01:36:33 PM Mar 08 2009
The biggest problem with Indiana being put on DST - AGAIN, since Indiana was a DST state up until sometime in the 60's or 70's - is that when the Governor, "NOT my man" Mitch Daniels decided which time zone we should be in, he put us in the Eastern Time Zone, instead of Central. We are WAY closer to Chicago than we are to New York, so that makes absolutely no practical sense whatsoever. The decision was made mostly because he and his buddies wanted more daylight in the evening hours to play GOLF. The rest of us have to deal with it now because too many idiots elected him to begin with - and then elected him AGAIN! So - there you are. Some people just never learn. Other than that - the basic concept of DST is fine - I grew up with it on the EAST COAST in EASTERN time, and loved it, which is where they belong and we do NOT. If we were on Central time instead, it wouldn't be such a pain in the rear.
Lamadness999 01:29:46 PM Mar 08 2009
whateverrrrr..... my electricity usage goes down when the days are longer... get more time to hang outside too! Six of one, half dozen of the other.... we're splitting hairs here.What's the big deal? Enjoy the day folks....
dewey@when.com 01:20:33 PM Mar 08 2009
I hate DST with a passion. If people want more daylight in the evening, then they should get up a hour earlier. They can go into work earlier and get off earlier and have their extra hour of daylight in the evening. Your body is in tune with the earths natural time. When you throw it off by a whole hour overnight, it throws your body off. As far as saving energy, that is bull. Part of Indiana used to be like Hawaii and Arizona and did not observe DST. Their stupid governor decided to change that. Now the state realizes that they screwed up. The citizens now used much more electricity. People must understand that you do NOT get an extra hour of daylight per day. You just change the hours around. Go to standardtime.com for all of the facts and to sign the petition to end DST. Have an awesome day.
VJAC73 01:16:46 PM Mar 08 2009
I absolutely HATE Daylite Saving Time. The policiatans don't have to get up until 8 or 9 am and they work until 6 pm I drive a school bus so for the next few moths I will be getting up at 4:00a.m. NOBOCY needs to get up at this time.And when its is time for lunch I need a nap to be able to do the afternoon. Now think about this I live in CT wherewhere we don't have anymore daylight during daylight saving in fact I will go to work in the dark and come home during the sun seting. So what good does Daylight Savings?
MdDg West 01:11:38 PM Mar 08 2009
I happen to live in an area that is geographically in the central time zone but politically relegated to the eastern time zone. That means that, with daylight saving time, there is a period when it isn't dark until well after 10:00pm. Try going to sleep when it is still daylight out and then arise for work at 4:00am. Even better, try to get your children to sleep at 9:00pm when it is still daylight out.
