“Daylight time, a monstrosity in timekeeping.”—Harry S. Truman

Sleep. For all of us it is a necessity, for others, it is a favorite pastime. Grudgingly, we set our clocks forward and lose an hour of sleep tomorrow, March 8, 2015, with the beginning of Daylight Savings Time. Since an updated federal law in 2005, on the second Sunday in March, clocks in most of the US are moved ahead one hour. Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands do not observe daylight savings time.

Daylight Saving Time (DST)

Benjamin Franklin published a paper in the 1780’s, suggesting the benefit of Daylight Savings time, was energy conservation, because Americans would burn less candles if they had an extra hour of daylight in the evening. Daylight saving advocates continue to use the energy conservation argument, suggesting that the “extra” daylight in the evening means there are fewer light bulbs lighting our homes, businesses and streets.

Opponents of DST note that it has harmful consequences. For example:

1. Auto accidents rise on the Monday after time change Sunday.
2. Medical research shows that stress levels and heart attacks increase during DST.
3. Work related accidents rise.
4. Web surfing increases as tired employees waste time at work.

Research has found, though, that once people adjust to the time change, auto accidents decrease due to the increased daylight driving hours in the evening. In fact, some studies have suggested that following the DST schedule year round would save more than 360 lives each year just from auto accidents alone.

Regardless of how you feel about DST, remember to set your clocks ahead by one hour this evening before going to bed. If you are injured in an auto accident or a work comp accident, please contact us to discuss your case.