Article by Layney Keesee, Design by Chloe Schmitz
Early spring, every year from 1908 to now. A curious phenomenon takes place while the majority of the world sleeps. In the wee hours of the morning, a select few individuals watch with awe, or perhaps horror, as the clock skips over 2 a.m. entirely. It’s not the apocalypse, and it’s not a mostly-worldwide time loop, but rather something much worse. Spring Forward. Tomorrow, the world will wake groggy and disoriented, an entire hour of sleep stolen from them. It will be returned without interest (of course) come November, and even then, the blissful gift of an extra hour will disrupt the natural circadian rhythms of all living under the unforgiving eye of daylight savings.
Some people, such as myself, have grown so accustomed to it that we forget it is a constant dark shadow on the horizon. I’m always either pleasantly surprised or cruelly shocked by the nefarious tamperings with the clock. This past year, I woke up on a crisp November morning simply believing that perhaps I was just naturally easing into a healthy sleep schedule. Alas, it was wishful thinking and a mean trick of the universe. Now, I am woefully watching the days on the calendar grow ever-closer to April, where I will be tossed carelessly into the icy-cold waters of sleep deprivation.
Arguably, daylight savings is an antiquated practice, born from a time before the widespread use of electricity by a few spendthrifts who wanted to save money on candles. Seems a little ridiculous when you put it that way. There’s been all kinds of arguments against this practice, which started in the United States in 1918 as an effort to conserve resources, specifically coal, on the homefront during WWI. Many argue that productivity actually drops during daylight savings, and some studies suggest the constant disruption of your circadian rhythm can increase your chances of having a heart attack. Additionally, daylight savings is no easy task to implement and maintain. Human error becomes increasingly more likely with a lack of sleep. Daylight savings can be linked to increased traffic accidents, confused airport schedules and simply everyone being so bone-tired that workflow becomes less efficient, not more.
They (as in, the United States Congress) have tried to eliminate daylight savings over and over again in the past handful of years. Alas, here we are, still being rudely jolted from our winter hibernation when we were just getting to the really juicy parts of our dreams. Is anyone truly more productive with that hour of sunlight? As someone whose mood is affected by the weather, I won’t discredit the value of some extra Vitamin D, but what would really help my mood is giving me that hour back.
So, why are we still putting on this seemingly endless charade? On the flip side, many argue that longer daylight hours actually reduce traffic accidents and petty theft. And while DST may be costly, it also allows more 9-to-5 workers to shop after their shifts, which seems insignificant at first glance, but can actually be very beneficial for the economy in the long run. Not only does a later sunset encourage spending, it also encourages all kinds of after-work activities, such as outdoor walks, jogs, bike rides, sporting events and so much more. People may be more tired, but they might also be playing baseball after work. Confusing, isn’t it?
It’s important to acknowledge that the removal of Spring Forward will also mean the removal of Fall Back. We can’t exactly continuously fall backwards without springing forward again, a moral well-known to English rock band, Chumbawumba. You can’t have sunshine without the rain, can’t have the good without the bad, can’t have love without pain and so on and so forth with every cliché you can think of. But maybe they’re right. Perhaps we should let the blissful memory of Fall Back propel us through the misery of Spring Forward. As it is, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be parting from daylight savings anytime soon, so we may as well all learn how to cope with it. Besides, it’s not all bad. Maybe we all just need to pick up a new hobby.