Daylight Saving Time - Opinion Piece 2 - CMNS 105

Szajnzinger.  Daylight Savings in BC.  March 12, 2018.

Why do we change our clocks twice a year?  BC Premier John Horgan has been toying with the idea of repealing Daylight Savings Time (DST).  Although it is common practice in many parts of in British Columbia, there are still many people who find contention with the time switch, and worldwide it is a much less accepted idea.  The question that must be asked is, it necessary for this time switch to occur? 

The first use of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Canada was in 1908.  It was adopted during both World War I and World War II to save on fuel but was repealed during the time between the wars.

There are several reasons that are often used to promote the switch to DST each year, the main one, according to CBC News, is that energy will potentially be saved due to more sunlight hours.  A study conducted in Indiana, however, found that this generally caused people to use more energy in their household.  According to Scientific American, Indiana adopted DST in 2006, which allowed studies to be conducted with data on energy consumption for before and after DST – these comparisons showed a 1% increase in household energy consumption.  Scientific American also mentions another study carried out in California that demonstrated “extending daylight time had little to no effect on energy use in the state” as the results fell within the statistical margin of error.

Another important factor for the pro-DST camp is the hope that businesses will reap the benefits of people enjoying the extra daylight hours, people will go out and spend their money – particularly on gas, due to more travel time.  This reasoning goes against why Daylight Savings Time was adopted during both WWI and WWII.  Arguing that DST will both save energy and encourage people to buy more gas makes DST seem incredibly contradictory.  While more daylight hours have been suggested to prevent accidents on the road, the exhaustion caused by the one-hour loss when time returns to Daylight Savings Time causes more accidents.  Encouraging people to go out and enjoy the extra daylight also negates the argument of saving energy, as more people on the roads means more harmful emissions being added to the atmosphere.

Going forward, it must be considered that DST can have a variety of undesirable side-effects on health.  Just as jet lag can be problematic.  An article from 2009 that was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology by Barnes and Wagner showed that “on Mondays directly following the switch to Daylight Saving Time—in which one hour is lost—workers sustain more workplace injuries and injuries of greater severity.”  The article in Scientific American further outlines the increased risk of heart attacks following the loss of sleep.

There does not appear to be any concrete positive evidence in support of switching to Daylight Saving Time each year. Considering the variety of problematic responses humans face due to the loss of one hour of sleep, perhaps DST should be adopted year round, or done away with completely.

References

Barnes, C.M. & Wagner, D.T. (2009) Changes to daylight saving time cuts into sleep and increases work place injuries.  Journal of Applied Psychology, (94)5, 1305-1317.  Retrieved on March 14, 2018 from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/apl9451317.pdf

CBC News. (March 10, 2018).  Some interesting facts about daylight time.  CBC News Technology & Science.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/daylight-saving-time-1.4567430

CBC News. (March 10, 2018). Daylight saving time begins in B.C. at 3 a.m. Sunday.  CBC News British Columbia.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/switch-to-daylight-savings-time-march-2018-1.4571365

Choi, C.Q. (March 1, 2009).  Does daylight saving time conserve energy?.  Scientific American.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-daylight-saving-times-save-energy/

McElroy, J. (March 9, 2017). B.C. government not springing forward on abolishing Daylight Saving Time.  Retrieved on March 12, 2018 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/daylight-savings-time-government-nope-1.4570546

Powers, L. (March 12, 2016).  Daylight saving time 2016: How big business benefits from more sunshine. CBC News Business. Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/daylight-saving-business-energy-1.3485281

Reese, M. (1932). A study of the effect of daylight saving time upon the sleep of young children. Child Development, 3(1), 86.  Retrieved on March 12, 2018 from  https://libsecure.camosun.bc.ca:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=8539503&site=eds-live

Stromberg, J.  (November 1, 2015).  It’s time to make daylight saving time year-round.  Vox.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from https://www.vox.com/2015/11/1/9640018/daylight-saving-time-year-round

Time and Date.  Daylight saving time statistics.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/statistics.html

Time and Date. The never ending DST debate.  Time and Date.  Retrieved on March 16, 2018 from https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/daylight-saving-debate.html