The Impact of Changing Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Savings Time is a common occurrence in the United States and is used to compensate for the late rising of the Sun in the Fall and Winter months. Recently though, there has been discussion about its true value and whether it’s necessary. According to the Washington Post without the time change, we would have later sunrises in general.

States on the East Coast of the United States would experience sunrise between 7:30am and 8am, whereas states located in the Northwest part of the country would experiences sunrises as late as 8:30am to 10am.

According to the United States Congress website, The Uniform Time Act or H.R. 5826 was introduced to Congress late last year, but was revisited this month under the name H. R. 1876, the amendment to the Uniform Time Act that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent. Two of 50 states, Arizona, and Hawaii have already chosen to no longer acknowledge Daylight Savings Time. Both states made their change in the late 1960’s. United States Territories also no longer adopt the Uniform Time Act.

As the public’s knowledge of the act grows and the news of it passing spreads, a few concerns arise. What will this change? Not only will it affect natural cycles like sleep for us, but it also influences people’s way of living and their daily routines. Perhaps the group that will be most affected by this will be youth in school and their families, as well as school administrators, bus drivers, etc.

Samantha Andrucyk, a Kenwood High School math teacher is a part of this group. Not only does the passing of this bill affect her work life, but she shares a common concern about how students’ lives will be changed. “I am concerned about children walking to school in the dark during the winter months when it will be dark because the clocks will not go backwards.” Many early risers do it to enjoy the calming sunrise and chirping birds, but if the sun no longer rises at its normal time, this could possibly interfere with people’s rarely interrupted routines.

Baltimore area weatherman Justin Berk on his page expressed concern that with a late sunrise without the clocks falling back in the winter months, it would make it hard for the roads to thaw in time for delayed school starts, which could potentially result in more cancelled in person school days.

Moreover, the thorough completion of morning routines sets the tone for the rest of our day. If the Uniform Time Act is passed completely, it could also interfere with society’s productivity. Samantha Andrucyk comments further, “I believe that consistency is key for routines and when the time changes, we need to adjust our routines accordingly which takes time and mental adjustment which can throw off balance.”. The effect of the time change varies depending on the individual, and some are affected more negatively than others.

No matter what our government decides, there are pros and cons to both sides. I think that we have overcome and adjusted to so much change thus far that we are more than capable of treating this the same way.

Sources

Grieser, Justin, et al. “How Permanent Daylight Savings Time would Affect Sunrise and Sunset Times”.

The Washington Post. 17 March 2022. Web Accessed 30 March 2022