I never really understood daylight savings time. Why move clocks back and forth? Isn't there the same amount of sun and dark no matter if the clock says 8am or 7am? So I did a history check on this to better understand why.
It started long ago with Benjamin Franklin and was put into place so that less energy would be used. There have been studies upon studies on the impact of moving the clocks forward, when daylight savings begins, and some have found significant electrical savings due to people not being home when the sun is out or home less so they aren't using TV's, Stereos, the Stove or lights. I guess that makes sense.
Other studies have seen that is really has no impact on energy use as the energy is just moved from night to morning as the previous studies had the waking up time of 7am for the majority of people. Seeing that the bus is packed by 7am when I get on, I am thinking more people get up before 7am then reported in studies.
So, okay we may save some energy...always important, but important enough to change the northern hemisphere's clocks twice a year?
It wasn't until the mid 80's that a private company did a study on what the PEOPLE thought. Amazing concept--ask the people! What they found is that a resounding 78% of them liked Daylight Savings Time because of the long summer nights. Because many of us have 4-6 months of cold and dark, we all seem to like the fact that the time change can impact our life's satisfaction!
I guess I agree! I love summer -not because of the heat but because you can be outside and enjoy it pass 7pm at night. BBQ, play games, garden, fish...the extra hour allows for more fun without having to get up at 4:30am to enjoy it!
So, today we fall back and "lose" the hour we gained in March so the mornings will be a little lighter and my nights a little darker. So for the next 125 days we will need to put up with our normal sunlight! Four months and then 240 days with more sunshine!
I guess I can handle four months of normal! Fall Back and wake up tomorrow knowing that you only have 124 days to go until more sun comes your way!
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