The Origins of Daylight Saving Time

The Origins of Daylight Saving Time: Why We Turn the Clocks Back

March 14 is just around the corner, which means it’s nearly time to “spring forward.”  If you love more daylight and those long, light-filled summer evenings, this is your time of year!  As you move your clocks one hour ahead in the early morning hours of March 14 to account for Daylight Saving Time (fact: there is no ”s” on Saving), remember that it’s not only a routine we do each year, it is historical and it affects our bodies.  Read on to learn about these important concepts.

What is Daylight Saving Time?

Every spring, the population of more than 40% of countries worldwide set their clocks ahead of standard time, usually by one hour.  On the first day the clocks are changed, the sun rises an hour later in the morning and sets an hour later in the evening.

Historians claim that Benjamin Franklin invented the concept of Daylight Saving Time, but it wasn’t implemented until 1908 in Canada (fact: Benjamin Franklin wrote about it as a joke yet, he is often given credit for its invention).  As other countries saw the success of “springing forward” an hour in the spring and “falling back” an hour in the fall, they standardized the concept.  Today, over 70 countries follow Daylight Saving Time.

What’s the point since there’s only a finite amount of daylight each day?  Daylight Saving Time is intended to make better use of the daylight hours.  In most places on Earth, including North America, there’s much more daylight in summer than winter.  By setting the clocks one hour forward in the springtime, people in these areas make the most of the daylight hours (fact: the initial thought was to save candles).

If you enjoy long, light-filled evenings in the summer, you have Daylight Saving Time to thank.

How does Daylight Saving Time affect the body?

Daylight Saving Time affects the human body in some unexpected ways.  Don’t be surprise if you notice some of these effects as you spring forward into daylight saving:

• Sleep habits: Humans have an internal 24-hour clock that influences sleep and wake cycles, called the circadian rhythm. Daylight Saving Time causes disruption to your circadian rhythm, since you lose an hour of sleep on the day you set the clocks ahead.  It’s important to take this change into account.  Go to bed a bit early the night before the clocks spring forward, and you should wake up feeling fully-rested.
• Mood changes: Enjoy the extra sunlight while you can. Since sunlight boosts serotonin levels in the body, you’ll likely notice an improvement in mood during Daylight Saving Time.
• Hunger changes: Those who have trouble adjusting their circadian rhythms to the time change can suffer from sleep loss, which in turn increases the hormone ghrelin. This hormone regulates hunger, and you can see a marked increase in your appetite if you don’t get your sleeping habits back on track.

Daylight Saving Time signals the arrival of the spring (March 20) and summer (June 20) months – Yay!!!.  Although you technically “lose” an hour of sleep, your body will adjust to the change and look forward to more daylight hours.  You just need to make the most of this happy time of the year.