By Sumaya Abdel-Motagaly
On Sunday, Nov. 6, everyone across America–except Arizona and Hawaii residents–woke up with an extra hour of sleep and an earlier sunrise, as daylight saving came to an end. Clocks were pushed back an hour at 2 a.m., resulting in an annual 25-hour day.
Despite the additional time in bed, some UMD students struggled to adjust to the new schedule.
“Every time daylight saving time either starts or ends, it messes with my sleep,” said junior psychology major Celsabeel Javeed. “My sleep suffers from the consequences.”
The idea of daylight saving is most commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. However, Franklin’s initial proposition was nothing but a comical essay calling for the altercation of individuals’ sleep schedules, not time itself.
The time change was first used during World War I and officially implemented by Congress in 1918. The original bill would later be repealed by Congress before undergoing many changes and being re-implemented.
In the fall, clocks get pushed back causing earlier sunsets; in the spring, clocks get pushed ahead causing later sunsets.
“Personally, I don’t think [daylight saving] is necessary. We could do better without it,” said David Yager, a psychology professor teaching biological rhythm courses at UMD. “To me, the dispute [over daylight saving] is because people don’t really understand what it’s all about, what’s really going on with biological clocks, and how profound the effects can be on our health. The fundamental issue is human health.”
For students commuting to campus, darker skies have been a challenge.
“It’s kind of hard, especially when you’re going home,” said sophomore information science major Lima Waziri. “As a commuter, it gets darker [going home] so fast.”
Lack of daylight has also been proven to cause feelings of sadness, more commonly known as seasonal depression.
“It’s not late, it’s just dark, which just makes me sad,” said Waziri.
Junior information science major Sabrina Chowdhury echoed, “I get more sleepy, and my mood changes when I see how dark it gets.”
Currently, Arizona and Hawaii are the only states who don’t undergo the time shift, with many other states planning to follow.
According to Yager, daylight savings “causes significant problems.” It alters the body’s biological clock, which regulates many systems in the body.
“Your whole body depends on rhythms, biological rhythms,” he said. “The body clock needs sunrise to reset itself, and daylight saving time pushes sunrise late in the day, which is not a good thing. People, in general, don’t really appreciate how important biological rhythms are to our health.”
The effects of daylight saving are more severe during the time change in spring. “[Studies] have shown that there are increased car accidents, there are increases in heart attacks, there’s an increase in reproductive problems in women,” Yager said.
While some see no need for daylight saving, its effects are clear; daylight savings continues to be a controversial topic, disarranging people’s schedules. However, some students found the extra hour of sleep gained in the fall to be beneficial.
“[My students] were definitely a lot more refreshed,” said Savreen Hundal, a communications professor. “They were actually on time and early, talking, eager, and excited.”
Regardless, Hundal also said, “It only applied to my eight a.m section. The other sections, not so much.”
In order to combat the consequences of daylight saving, Yager recommends adequate sleep. “[Go] to bed at the same time every day and [wake] up at the same time.”
“Not enough sleep is bad,” he said. “You need good sleep, regular sleep for your brain health and emotions.”