The good news is that the COVID-19 relief bill squeaked through the Senate and will go back to the House this week where it will hopefully pass – again. Then it will be off to Biden’s desk so hopefully the bill will get signed before people’s unemployment benefits run out on March 14th. Nothing like coming down to the wire. But rather than write more about all of the political nonsense continuing to go on in Washington and around the country I thought I would write a little bit about another big event coming up on March 14th. That is the day that Daylight Savings kicks in, so I thought it would be fun to throw out a few little factoids about Daylight Savings as we all get ready to ‘leap ahead.’ (Not that any of us need any more stress in our lives!)
Time zones in the United States were initially introduced in the United States in 1883 as a way to avoid confusion and reduce train crashes due to the fact that local times were often out of sync. At the beginning of WWI, the US designated the Interstate Commerce Commission as the agency responsible for overseeing time zones. This made perfect sense because the ICC was the organization also responsible the railroads. Daylight savings apparently was first started in Germany in World War I as a way to conserve fuel and power by extending daylight hours.1 The United States followed suit and DST was in effect until after the war.
After the war, DST was abolished but states were allowed to make their own decisions as to whether or not to adopt DST. Once again, this led to a patchwork of adopters and non-adopters resulting in more confusion and collisions. The Department of Transportation was founded in 1966 and given jurisdiction over time zones and Daylight Savings. At the time, DST was implemented uniformly across the nation with the exceptions of Arizona and Hawaii. Arizona petitioned for and was granted an exemption primarily because of the hot summer weather in that state.2Interestingly, the Navaho nation continues to observe DST so part of Arizona is on DST and part of Arizona is not. Hawaii isn’t on DST because there are no major transportation issues that are affected by its decision to stay on standard time.
The whole concept has been controversial for a while. Between 2015 and 2019, twenty-nine states introduced legislation to eliminate the clock changes required every March and November either by implementing DST permanently or doing away with it altogether. However, the power to implement or eliminate DST rests with the Department of Transportation. That said, there appears to growing interest in implementing DST permanently. Time will tell – so to speak.
While time zones were initially implemented to avoid train crashes and DST was initially introduced to help the war efforts in WWI and WWII, one of the biggest arguments to eliminate or permanently implement DST now is based upon health reasons.3
Mood and Productivity:
On average, Americans lose 40 minutes of sleep when we set the clocks ahead in the spring. Such sleep disturbances can lead mood disruptions and increased irritability.
Work Place Injuries:
Sleep deprivation can affect motor skills and research shows that it may lead to more workplace injuries, particularly around daylight saving time transitions.
A 2009 study examined data on over 500,000 mining injuries from 1983 to 2006 and found a 5.7 percent increase on the Monday following the time change. What’s more, the injuries were more severe, leading to a 68 percent increase in the number of days of work missed.
Car Crashes
In a study being published in American Economic Journal next month, Smith analyzed vehicle accidents just before and after daylight saving time in the U.S. over a 10-year period. The results showed a 6 percent increase in crashes immediately after people reset their clocks in the spring, which amounted to more than 300 deaths.
Heart Trouble
Changing the clocks ahead an hour can take a toll on your heart. A recent study found that daylight saving time transitions may be tied to an increased risk of a common type of stroke.
Researchers from Finland analyzed over a decade of stroke data and found that the overall rate of ischemic stroke — which accounts for the majority of stroke cases and is caused by a clot blocking blood flow to the brain — was 8 percent higher during the first two days after a daylight-saving time transition.
Cancer patients and people over the age of 65 appeared to be at a higher risk of stroke immediately after the time change, with a 25 percent and 20 percent increased risk, respectively.
A 2014 study published in the journal Open Heart also found that setting clocks ahead one hour in the spring was also associated with higher short-term risk of heart attack.
Diet and appetite
Though not as serious as car crashes or heart trouble, daylight saving time transitions can temporarily wreak havoc on your diet.
Any amount of sleep deprivation can affect the hormone levels in the body, which can lead to changes in appetite, an increase in cravings, and potential overeating.
So, based upon the above information, starting next Monday and for the first few days after DST is in effect, I suggest you 1) do something to make yourself happy and improve your mood, 2) don’t go to work, 3) don’t drive, 4) don’t exert yourself and put undo stress on your heart, and 5) put a lock on the refrigerator so you don’t overeat. And with that, have a great day and stay safe out there!! :0)
Honolulu. Hawaii is 140 miles from the Tropic of Cancer. There’s no significant advantage to having daylight savings in Hawaii. There’s no significant advantage to Arizona staying on DLT because workers at Hoover Dam that live in Nevada have to change the time on their watches every day when they go to work.