It’s daylight savings time! While snowstorms are still hitting many places around the country, springtime is well on its way (and it couldn’t come sooner!). And nothing says a new season is upon us more clearly than a change of the clocks! Of course, “springing ahead” can be a difficult adjustment – after all, no one wants to lose an hour of sleep!
What You Don’t Know About Daylight Savings Time
Before you skip that hour this weekend, here’s what you may not have known about daylight savings time:
It’s not American
Nope, it really wasn’t Benjamin Franklin who invented daylight savings time. While living in Paris, old Ben merely wrote a satirical essay about how much more productive Parisians could be if they got up at done instead of sleeping through the early morning hours.
Europe is to Blame
Daylight savings time, known as summertime in the United Kingdom, was first adopted by Germany in 1916. England followed suit shortly after. The United States didn’t jump on the bandwagon until 1918.
It’s not a Law
Believe it or not, there’s no federal law that says each state has to change the clocks. And if you’re in Arizona, Hawaii or Puerto Rico, you won’t be losing any sleep this week. That’s because those states opt to NOT change their clocks.
Daylight Savings Might Make You Tired
The idea of getting one more hour of daylight each day sounds promising enough, but the truth of the matter is that many Americans don’t love daylight savings time. In fact, many report that it takes them a good while to adjust to the new schedule. Guess that hour of sleep really does count!
You’ve Got Til November!
If you remember the days before 2007, you might think that daylight savings time seems to be stretching on a little long in recent years. Well, that’s because it is! These days, daylight savings time stretches from the second weekend of March to the first weekend of November. That’s a lot of daylight!
Ready to set your clocks back? Here’s hoping you’ll make up that lost hour of sleep post daylight savings!
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