The date Daylight Saving Time (DST) began in Florida was on Sunday, March 12, 2017. Do we really need to do this to ourselves?
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Legislators in some states have tried unsuccessfully to pass laws abandoning daylight saving time, but Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that do not reset their clocks twice a year.
Remembering the old saying “spring ahead, fall back” is helpful. Franklin did so somewhat tongue-in-cheek, when he was living in Paris, France. And as for spending researchers at Cornell University found that people in Los Angeles spend 3-point-5 percent less at stores, compared to people in Phoenix who do not spring forward. The Germans began using it in May 1916, with the goal of conserving fuel during World War I. The rest of Europe followed suit soon after, and the United States officially adopted daylight saving time in 1918.
The idea in the US was sparked by Robert Garland, a Pittsburgh industrialist often called the “Father of Daylight Saving”, according to timeanddate.com.
In the Central time zone, in cities such as Chicago, Dallas and New Orleans, the difference will be eight hours, instead of nine. There’s more daylight in the summer, to be sure, but that has to do with our trip around the sun, not with setting our clocks forward an hour.
Our sleep cycle is impacted by our appetite, so try eating earlier if you want extra shut-eye before the start of Daylight Saving Time.
Studies have also shown moving the clocks ahead an hour prompts a reduction in worker productivity and can cause more auto accidents.
Although we’ve been told that Daylight Savings helps save energy, there is evidence that Daylight Savings may actually cost more energy, as noted by Duke Energy’s Illumination blog. Also, it prevents traffic incidents because people are driving around more during the light hours.
Although children take about three weeks to get used to the change, doctors say most adults are back to their normal routines within the first week.
Where is Daylight Savings Time observed?
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While others feel that Daylight Saving Time only brings trouble, retail owners and entrepreneurs use this as an advantage to their business.
