Most of us know that we had to set our clocks forward last weekend, but it still begs the question?
Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.
Is Daylight Savings Time still affecting you?
Most of us know that we had to set our clocks forward last weekend, but do we really know why this practice is in place? This practice is called daylight savings time. This practice was established in 1918 by the Standard Time Act and was initially intended to conserve fuel during World War I. Daylight Savings Time was repealed in 1919 but was re-established during the early part of World War II and was observed from February 9th, 1942, to September 30th, 1945. When the war ended its use varied among the states and localities. In 1966 the Uniform Time Act created a standardization in the dates which made the beginning the last Sunday in April and the end being the last Sunday in October with the change to occur at 2 a.m. local time. During the 1970’s there was an energy crisis, so congress changed the starting dates for Daylight Savings Time so that it began earlier on January 6th and in 1975 it was changed to begin on February 23rd. After those two years they moved the date to the last Sunday in April. After keeping this the same for years, it was then changed again in 2007 to what it is now and starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. For years they have been discussing removing Daylight Savings Time because numerous studies have shown that it can disrupt sleep and could potentially lead to increased heart attacks, strokes, traffic accidents and cause mental health issues. According to studies these issues are more prominent when the clocks are moved forward than when moving the clocks back an hour. They are still debating on the removal of Daylight Savings Time and hopefully they will discontinue its use in the near future. Below are some of the other potential negative effects.
- Sleep Deprivation
- Metabolic Issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Cognitive Functions
- Digestive and Immune-Related Diseases
If you need help sourcing items for your company, feel free to contact SafeSourcing. We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which company and product meets your needs. If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.
