yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Daylight Saving Time 101 | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

In spring, we move our clocks forward an hour, and in fall, we move them back an hour. That section in between, we call that daylight savings time. And oh, it's singular; sorry, I mean daylight saving time. It may seem pretty straightforward, but daylight saving time has both serious repercussions and major benefits.

In the United States of America, 48 states observe daylight saving time, with Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands choosing to ignore it. In spring, the 48 states all jump ahead an hour, and the immediate effects can be disastrous. One study found that the average American worker loses 40 minutes of sleep when the clock springs forward. That means lots of people could be losing an hour of sleep or more on the same night, essentially giving us all jet lag.

Sleep deprivation can lead to serious health issues. According to studies, the first Monday of daylight saving time has 25% more heart attacks than a typical Monday. Car accidents go up 17% in the days after the time shift, and workplace accidents go up about six percent. Workers are 67% more likely to miss work due to these accidents, and productivity goes way down the first Monday after daylight saving time.

Daylight saving time isn't even universal. Fewer than half of the countries in the world actually use it, and few agree on when it starts or ends. The switch to daylight saving time has a lot of negatives, so why do we do it at all? The real reason we kept daylight saving time and extended it? Economics. Some studies suggest we spend money when it's sunny outside. If it's light out after work or school, people spend more at the shops.

From 1968 to 1971, the UK kept their version of daylight saving time for the whole year, and traffic deaths declined by 11% because it was light after work during the winter. Another recent study found that kids are more likely to exercise outside during the winter daylight saving time rather than huddling inside after school.

With benefits and negative effects, it's no wonder daylight saving time has opponents and supporters. But on what side of the clock do you stand?

More Articles

View All
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: The Investment Opportunity of a Generation
I see AI presenting transformational opportunities. It may be the technology that can bring down the inflation. AI is fundamentally altering the economy and creating a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity. These aren’t my words; this is coming from…
Why The Stock Market JUST Dropped
What’s up, Graham? It’s guys you here, and I know I always preach the age-old sayings: don’t time the market, buy and hold; time in the market beats timing the market; the stock market is not the economy; and the market can remain irrational longer than y…
The Mummification of Seti I | Ultimate Treasure Countdown
[music playing] NARRATOR: Seti the First was the father of our friend Ramesses the Great. Just like his son, he was a hugely successful pharaoh. But in father-son rivalry, there’s one category where he wins hands down: his mummy. Because Seti the First b…
Shipwreck Hunter Unearths Lost History and Treasures | Best Job Ever
When I tell people what I do, there’s a sort of complete silence till they process what does that mean and how could somebody actually have a job like that. “Get the metal detector! I’m David Mearns and I’m a shipwreck hunter. In terms of the significanc…
Canyon Catharsis | Badlands, Texas
I’ve been through this canyon over 750 times. This is a place where you can hear the voice of God bouncing off these walls in the wind. There’s no roar, no freeways, no trial. Silence. For years, I was a river guide here with Tony. I remember when Tony f…
Worked example: Balancing a simple redox equation | Chemical reactions | AP Chemistry | Khan Academy
So what we have here is a redox reaction. Things are getting oxidized and reduced; that’s the name, redox. But we want to balance this redox reaction, and when we talk about balancing a redox reaction, we want to make sure we conserve mass and charge on b…