Why Is There Daylight Savings? An Overview

Picture this: You’ve had a long day full of errands, and you want to come home and get an early night’s rest. You do your usual bedtime routine and then fall asleep quickly.

But, when your alarm goes off in the morning, you feel a bit disoriented, like you lost some sleep. After looking at the time and watching the news, you realize daylight savings has begun.

Why is there daylight savings time? We’ll provide the answer to this question in our guide below.

The Purpose Behind Daylight Savings

We change our clocks forward and backward each year, once in March and again in October. These time changes are known as daylight savings time. 

We grudgingly change our clocks back in the winter, which means the days will be shorter. With less sunlight, people tend to stay at home more.

When does it get dark? Depending on where you live, usually around 4 or 5 pm. But some still enjoy themselves with activities like stargazing or going for a night run.

We happily change our clocks again in the summertime because we know that brighter days are coming. Instead of the sun setting when we’re getting out of work, it’s still shining brightly until the late evening.

As a result, we’ll become inclined to stay out longer. But not everyone is too accepting of daylight savings.

Who’s Affected By Daylight Savings?

There’s a common myth—which you may have heard in school growing up— that daylight savings time was meant to help farmers. With longer hours of sunlight, they would get more fieldwork done.

However, this is not true. With the loss of an extra hour in the mornings, farmers have to rush to prepare their crops, leaving their operations in flux. But farmers aren’t the only ones affected by the change of time.

Every day workers are affected too. When the time changes, it naturally disrupts our circadian rhythm, our 24-hour internal body clock. That’s why you may feel disoriented for a few days after the clocks change.

Will Daylight Savings Ever Go Away?

There has been some pushback against daylight savings time because it doesn’t make sense to some people. States like California, Florida, and Ohio want to do away with it altogether.

With evidence from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, legislators want to ensure everyday life isn’t disrupted by a lack of sleep. However, a bill promoting change will take some time to pass.

The Question “Why Is There Daylight Savings” Has Been Answered

The next time someone asks you, “Why is there daylight savings” you can provide them with a concrete answer. But if you can’t, you can also refer them to our guide.

Whether you like the time changes or not, do your best to find activities to help you navigate those periods. That way, no matter what, you’ll still be a happier and healthier person.

If you’re interested in other related content, please read some of our other blog posts. We’re sure you’ll find something of interest.