BOZEMAN – Daylight Saving Time returns at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. It’s a time of year that some people look forward to and dread.
DST started in the U.S. in 1918 but was repealed in 1919 because it was so unpopular. States had the option to continue it until President Roosevelt implemented it during World War II from 1942 to 1945.
The U.S. Department of Transportation conducted a study in 1970 which led people to believe that Daylight Saving Time saved energy.
However, this was disproved by a University of California Santa Barbara study which proved that there was a 1% rise in demand for energy an early Spring and late Fall.
Not everyone observes Daylight Saving Time, The state of Arizona abolished it after the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966 which allowed states to opt out of DST. Arizona observed the following year but energy consumption soared so after 1967 only the Navajo Indian observes DST in the state.
Hawaii is another state that doesn’t observe it because daylight is constant year round because of how close it is to the equator.
Daylight Saving Time can be annoying when you have to change your living room clock but the more controversial issue is what it does to our natural clock that’s inside of us.
When we lose one hour of sleep from our normal schedule effects our ability to concentrate which increases the chance of getting into a motor vehicle accidents ad having a heart attack or stroke, but there are benefits to the time change.
“More sun gives us the opportunity to exercise after we go to work and its easier to drive in the sun, so long term with the time change it’s less likely to get in motor vehicle crash as your driving home from work, so those are tradeoffs,” said Dr. James Osmanski, II who is the Director of Sleep Medicine Services at Bozeman Health.
-Carson Vickroy reporting for MTN News
