Clocks will shift forward in most of the U.S. on Sunday as daylight saving time begins, resulting in later sunrises and sunsets.
The time shift can really mess up our natural circadian rhythms, which align with sunnier mornings and darker evenings.
Justin Bartel is an astronomer at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, according to WTVR.com. Unlike many holidays and traditions, daylight saving is not tied to astronomic or worldly changes. It’s more random than you might think, he said.
“We’re kind of close to the beginning of spring, but there’s really no connection between the two. It’s kind of a coincidence,” he explained. “There are some observances that we do every year that are related to the position of things in the sky. Easter is one that really jumps out because it’s always after the first full moon after the spring equinox.”
Does daylight saving time pose any risks?
As was mentioned earlier, DST does mess with our normal routine, and while some people prefer lighter evenings so they can enjoy more sunlight after school or work, research has shown that “spring forward” is linked with an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and mood disturbances.
In the long term, daylight saving has also been associated with heart disease and diabetes. This is in part thanks to disruptions in sleep schedules, explained James A. Rowley, who is a professor of medicine at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine and sits on the board of directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, reports The Hill.
“Plus, we’re not quite tracking the sun correctly when we’re on daylight saving time. So the cues are just off by an hour or so, and that can have long-term effects,” he said.
Benjamin Franklin’s theory on saving time
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, published the proverb “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,”
And as an envoy to France, in 1784, Franklin wrote a satirical article in a French newspaper suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight.
This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise.
Despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST; 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. This is not to say that others around the globe didn’t want an adjustment to the evening daylight hours.
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, was the first city in the world to enact DST, on 1 July 1908. This was followed by Orillia, Ontario, introduced by William Sword Frost while mayor from 1911 to 1912.
However, it was the German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary that adopted DST on April 30, 1916, as a way to conserve coal during wartime. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year, and the United States adopted daylight saving in 1918.
Most jurisdictions abandoned DST in the years after the war ended in 1918, with exceptions including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, and the United States.
Daylight saving became a permanent fixture for most Americans in the 1960s. The country came close to abolishing the time changes last year. In March 2022, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would essentially keep states in daylight saving time year-round. The House did not consider that legislation.
