On the morning of Sunday, March 12, daylight saving time will once again begin.
Clocks will advance by one hour at 2 a.M., And we will lose that hour of sleep.
The compromise is that the sun will begin to set after 7 p.M. In Oklahoma for the first time since October.
But why bother with the inconvenience of adjusting clocks and circadian rhythms twice annually?
Here’s a brief explainer on how some states started making efforts to save time permanently. At the very least, this signals the start of spring with the impending return of birds and the budding of flowers in the region.
The Uniform Time Act established nationwide standards for the observance of daylight saving time when it was signed into law in 1966.
Prior to the United States not being regulated by the federal government, it was observed whether to decide if states, cities, and municipalities should end or start daylight saving time.
More: Does daylight saving time have negative effects on your sleep schedule? Oklahoma physicians discuss health hazards.
It was difficult to find the emerging television broadcast industry in the mid-20th century due to constantly shifting and complex time schedules, including transportation industries such as airlines, trucking, and railroads. The country’s managing of time standards and time zones was characterized by a haphazard approach, as stated by the Congressional Education and History Center named after Robert C. Byrd.
Since then, the beginning and concluding dates for daylight saving time in the United States have changed throughout the years.
Who came up with daylight saving time?
The practice, as per Encyclopedia Britannica, was initially proposed in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784.
Willet also urged individuals to rise earlier during the summer months in order to maximize daylight. As documented by the National Museum of Scotland, in 1907, he released a brochure titled “The Squandering of Daylight” which advocated for the progression of clocks in spring and their reversal in autumn. Nevertheless, the initial genuine advocate of daylight saving time was an English constructor named William Willet.
“The extended daylight hours are valued by all,” expressed Willett in the brochure. “Their reduction in duration during the approach of autumn is mourned by everybody, and the fact that the crisp and vibrant morning light of spring and summer is rarely witnessed or taken advantage of is a sentiment echoed by almost everyone. However, the established standard time persists, resulting in the sun illuminating the land for several hours each day while we are in slumber for almost half of the year.”
Should the U.S. end daylight saving time?
Does anyone actually enjoy losing or gaining an hour of sleep just to have more daylight?
Recent polls have discovered that legislative measures have resulted in that attitude, and 59% of individuals desire to witness daylight saving time become permanent, whereas only 35% of Americans endorse the practice of adjusting their clocks every autumn and spring.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, if Congress were to allow states surrounding some cases to enact the same legislation, resolutions have been passed or legislation has been enacted in 19 states, including Ohio, in the past five years, in order to provide year-round daylight saving time.
The crucial statement there is if Congress were to permit such a modification.
The United States has several territories and states, such as the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and Arizona, that choose to switch to different standard times and opt out of daylight saving time under the Uniform Time Act.
If the country were to transition to year-round daylight saving time, Ohio would adopt Atlantic Time, which is the time zone used by Puerto Rico, a large portion of the Caribbean, and Canada’s Maritime provinces.
Therefore, regardless of the desires of individual states, a transition to year-round daylight saving time necessitates a modification in federal legislation.
However, the U.S. Senate passed a bill this year that would have made daylight saving time permanent across the U.S., But the House Representatives didn’t take up the Sunshine Protection Act in the subsequent months.