Daylight Savings Time: Pros & Cons

Everyone seems to have an opinion about Daylight Savings Time, and most people do not care for it. We all know the adage of "spring forward, fall back," where we set the clock forward an hour each spring, and set it back an hour in the fall. This was first proposed in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin. Thanks a lot, Ben! But it actually wasn't put into practice until 1908 in Canada, and there has been debate about it ever since.

Pros

• More light! By setting the clock forward in the spring, workers have an extra hour of daylight to enjoy after their workday activities, particularly after school activities and sporting events. 
  
• Decreased energy consumption. Some supporters claim that more activity during daylight hours reduces the need for lighting and heating, but this is heavily disputed.
• Stay the course. We have been doing this for over 100 years, so a change now would be disruptive. However, a minority of the world practices DST, so it would only be difficult for the few.

Cons

• Circadian rhythms (sleep patterns) are notoriously difficult to change, so many people wind up being sleepy and/or tired until the fall.
•  Some studies show an increase traffic accidents and other accidents involving heavy machinery during the spring. 
• It's unpopular! A whopping 70% of Americans in a 2019 poll prefer not to switch back and forth, although there is disagreement about whether to stick with Standard Time or DST year round. A small majority prefer Standard Time. 
• Not everyone in the world follows the DST schedule, and it is confusing! Even in the US, there are two states that don't participate: Arizona and Hawaii. 

So what do we do about this problem? While it might be tricky for a year or two, the countries that participate in DST would likely get used to the new schedule fairly quickly. As to the issue of light in the fall versus the spring, one idea would be to end the work day an hour earlier in the spring. There is already a large discussion about the 5 day work week and a lack of productivity where workers are tired and burned out, so getting out of work or school a little earlier for half the year might actually help. Unfortunately, we should all get ready to "spring forward" again on March 13.