Here's The Lowdown On Why We Change Our Clocks, Thanks To Daylight Saving

Daylight saving is on its way.

On Sunday, March 13, more than 70 countries all over the world will set their clocks forward one hour, essentially moving one hour of daylight from the early morning to later at night. In other words, the billions of people daylight saving time affects will find it even harder to wake up one hour earlier on Monday morning, when the sun hasn't even risen yet.

Setting our clocks back at the end of daylight saving always incites feelings of excitement for the additional 60 minutes of sleep we'll get for one night out of the year. But it's setting our clocks forward that has a tendency to f*ck us up, regardless of how much we enjoy longer summer nights.

So, what's the point of it all? Why set our clocks backward or forward and disrupt our daily schedules?

The whole idea of daylight saving time originated back in 1908, when a man named William Willet proposed the practice to British Parliament. Although his proposal was declined, Germany, the UK and US picked it up between 1915 and 1918 in an effort to reduce energy consumption and save costs.

The concept of daylight saving has never proven to save electricity, however, and it's actually become quite controversial among the masses. In fact, some states are even considering abolishing it all together.

It addition to being an unfounded energy-saving practice, opponents suggest daylight saving time has become a notion of the past, considering the change makes it unsafe for children to walk to school in the dark hours of early morning, and traffic accidents become more prevalent during the morning commute without daylight.

Not to mention, the biggest argument against the practice comes from farmers, who, contrary to popular belief, do not benefit from the time change and claim it disrupts their rigid schedules.

So, who really does benefit from Daylight Saving? The economy.

According to the New York Times, the extra hour of daylight after work and school encourages Americans to get out of the house and do more. And since everything these days costs money, heading to the mall, movies, or out to grab a bite to eat is feeding the cycle.

There you have it: Whether you like it or not, Daylight Saving Time isn't some magical wonder of the world, it's manmade practice that's been around for just over a century. And as long as it continues to benefit the economy, it's not going anywhere.

Citations: New York Times