If you woke up Sunday feeling a little less rested than usual, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Every year, on the second Sunday of March, Americans scramble to set the clocks forward, adjusting the time on everything from their watches to their microwaves. Advancing the hour is in keeping with the time honored tradition of daylight saving time, a seemingly benign practice that has a surprisingly interesting history behind it. From its origins in the late 1700s to its recent controversies, much of what we know about daylight saving time is either inaccurate or incomplete. Even its name, commonly misconstrued as “daylight savings time,” lends way to its reputation as a misunderstood practice. It’s time we unravel some of the mystery behind the enigmatic tradition.
We can’t give Benjamin Franklin credit for coming up with daylight saving, but he did advocate for a similar idea in a satirical letter he wrote while living in Paris. Published in 1784, the paper jokingly argued that, by waking up at dawn and avoiding the use of costly candles, Parisians could save a modern-day equivalent of nearly 200 million dollars. It was a relatively sound argument, but considering that 18th century Europe hadn’t even begun the practice of following precise schedules, the idea didn’t gain much traction.
By the turn of the 19th century, times had changed. Entomologist George Hudson, noticing that his shift work allowed him valuable time after hours to collect insects, proposed a two-hour daylight shift, publishing two papers that garnered considerable interest. English builder William Wellett took the idea one step further, presenting a proposal to a parliament member, who in turn introduced a Daylight Saving Bill to the House of Commons in 1908. The committee rejected the proposal, but Wellett continued to fervently advocate for the practice, persistently proposing similar bills until his death in 1915. Poor Wellett never lived to see his idea come to life, but just a year after his death, Germany became the first country to utilize DST, adopting the practice in an attempt to curb electrical costs. It didn’t take long for other major powers, like the U.K., U.S. and Russia, to follow suit.
Although the U.S. willingly adopted a DST measure during the war, by the end of 1918 Congress had abolished the Standard Time Act, overriding President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Some states continued to practice DST, but it wasn’t until World War ll, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced “War Time,” that year-round DST came back into use. The end of the second World War also meant a second demise for Daylight Saving, but it eventually did regain its popularity.
Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t the farmers that lobbied to bring DST back to life. In fact, when Wilson first introduced the measure in World War l, Daylight Saving disrupted farmers’ schedules and negatively affected their work. It was actually the transportation industry, which was impacted by the inconsistent use of DST between states, that pushed for legislation. As a result, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was introduced, mandating standard times within time zones and a specific day and hour for an advancing of the clocks. States were allowed to opt out, but only if the entire state did so. Arizona and Michigan were the first to exempt themselves from the practice, but a new act that accommodated states with split time zones convinced Michigan to adopt DST. Currently, Arizona and Hawaii still do not partake in the yearly ritual of changing the clocks.
Even though DST is now practiced in over 70 countries, it does not come without its fair share of critics. Although credited as early advocates of daylight saving, as it turns out, farmers aren’t its biggest fans. Since its introduction in the 1900s, they have adamantly expressed their disapproval of DST. Not only do farmers lose valuable daylight needed for completing early morning tasks, adjusting their livestock to the changing schedule has proven to be quite a challenge. And they aren’t the only ones that suffer. Data shows that TV networks and movie theaters also take a hit when the clocks change, as people are more likely to swap a night in for an outdoor adventure as the days get darker later. Furthermore, evidence has shown that DST has little to no effect on a state’s energy conservation. Opponents of Daylight Saving also cite studies that indicate that DST correlates to an increased risk of road accidents and heart attacks.
Despite these concerns, there are some advantages for the states that practice Daylight Saving. It maximizes daylight, has been linked to a decrease in criminal activity, and can even promote better health, as people are more likely to go walking, jogging, or exercising when it’s light out. It benefits certain businesses, especially those in tourism, sports, or retail. And some proponents of DST even argue that it actually reduces accidents, as more sleep and light on the road can help prevent car crashes.
When it comes to Daylight Savings, like many other practices, opinions seem to be mixed. From farmer strikes to congressional petitions, efforts have been made worldwide to end the practice. Most of these attempts have so far proven futile, but it still brings into question the necessity of DST. Since its inception, the popularity of daylight saving has fluctuated, facing its fair share of admirers-and enemies. It was proven useful during wartime, and, later, to the transportation industry. It still has certain benefits, but when it comes to its original goal of energy conservation, daylight saving appears to fall short. Nowadays, due to its potential health concerns, disruption of farmers’ schedules, and detrimental effect to certain businesses, many see DST as doing more harm than good.
So, do we still need daylight saving time? I’ll let you decide.

Jasmine Weis is a senior at Benicia High School.

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