The sunlight hits your face and instantly you’re awake. You would sleep in an extra hour if the sun wasn’t already shining through your blinds at 6 a.m.
Hey folks, it’s time for daylight saving. Most of the U.S. population dreads this day of the year where we lose an hour and gain sleep deprivation. Who in their right mind wants to wake up one hour earlier than they should?
The idea of adjusting clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less first resonated with Benjamin Franklin. In 1784, Franklin coined the proverb, “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
Though Franklin cannot be credited with the proposal for DST, he was one of the first to advocate sleeping less in turn for more productivity during the day.
In today’s society where economic stimulus is much needed, an extra hour in a workday really wouldn’t hurt anyone.
It was prominent British outdoorsman William Willett who gave DST a solid purpose about a century later. But who would adopt and practice such a drastic change to the time standard?
Germany dialed its clocks an hour forward during World War I as a way to save energy for war efforts. The United States adopted it about 10 years after DST first started out as a buzzword. Since then, the world has seen many adjustments and arguments for repealing DST.
Although losing an hour of sleep sounds very unappealing, it is only unappealing for the first few days of adjusting. Just as with any sort of change, whether it be with time or proposals for legalizing illegal drugs, people moan and groan about it until they realize, it’s not that bad.
Believe it or not, DST actually works in everyone’s favor. Surprise? It shouldn’t be. We’ve known about it and been complying with DST for a century now.
Without the spring forward in time, we couldn’t get up earlier to enjoy the many outdoor recreational activities that require daylight like tennis, golf, running and picnics.
We live in a society that preaches sustainability. Conserving all forms of energy, especially light, is definitely at the head of the “save the planet” mantra. DST follows our society’s needed guidelines for a sustainable future.
“We conserve energy and America’s families pocketed $500 million in savings from the extension – and the wise Ben Franklin invented the idea,” said U.S. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Fred Upton, R-Mich.
So you can complain about setting your clock an hour ahead, or you can quit whimpering, go outside and play some baseball while you can.
Krizia Torres is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily reporter.