Daylight Savings Time 2011 – When and Why?... Hate it or Like it?

(Poll at the end of this article)

DST short for Daylight Savings Time has been implemented in a number of countries originally supporting the idea that starting the day earlier woud save resources reducing the need of burning midnight oil or consuming candles :)

USA Daylight Savings Time: in most of USA DST started at 2 am March 13 (forward one hour) and time will drop back to standard time the 6th November 2011.

UK Daylight Savings Time: DST started the 27th March 2011 and will fall back to standard time at the end of this month, 30th October 2011

If you are in UK, Sunday 30 October don't forget to move your clock one hour back from 2am to 1am. Well... I guess most of us won't stay up late to change the time in the middle of the night; you can either move the clock one hour back before going to bed or set your allarm to go off one hour earlier in the morning (e.g. 5 am instead 6 am) and adjust your clock back one hour when you wake up.

Does Daylight Saving Time actually save resources today like Electricity?

Sadly it looks like it is not really working. Part of Australia implemented DST in 2000, electricity usage did not decrease and peak usage and prices went up in the morning. A few years ago a simulation of DST in Japan suggested that Osaka residents would end up using more electricity for extra cooling, much more that the savings that could be made due to less lighting.

Generally private individuals that start work very early in the morning complain about the spring DST because they end up having to work the early hours of the morning in 'dark hours'.

What about effects on health? Is Daylight Savings Time good for you?

DST supporters argue that during daylight saving time people tends to spend more time outside and less time at home, which would suggest we tend to walk about more therefore bringing health benefits. In contrast, a chronobiologist from Germany (Till Roenneberg) claims his studies suggest otherwise. He says our circadian body clock never adjusts to the extra hour of daylight in the evenings and this causes a general 'tired' feeling, decreased levels of productivity, we are more prone to get ill, overall lower quality of life,

The debate is still on...

What do you think about Daylight Savings Time, do you like it or do you hate it?

If you have a few spare seconds there is a poll about it with just two possible answers: Like it, Hate it. Where do you stand? :)