Are you ready for longer days and shorter nights? Daylight Savings Time is when time is adjusted to achieve longer evening daylight by setting the clocks an hour ahead of the Standard Time. It starts Sunday, March 13th and lasts until November 6th. There are people who complain about this change, but DST actually has a lot of positive impacts. 

The main reason for daylight savings is to save energy and money. We can spend more time outdoors, you have more time to do stuff after school or work, and by reducing our use of artificial lighting, we are saving on our energy bills. 

It also helps prevent traffic accidents and reduce crime. According to a study conducted at Stanford, “ambient light is directly correlated with a drop in crimes categorized as socially damaging,” such as robberies. Also, since driving at night is more dangerous, we have more daylight to avoid accidents. 

There are also health benefits when it comes to daylight savings because you have more time to spend outdoors. According to Time Magazine, “Americans getting off work while it was still light out meant they would be more likely to go out shopping in the evening.” This is an advantage for business owners because people going shopping more often helps with sales.

A lot of people don’t like DST, but I enjoy “springing forward” because it lets me sleep in so I have more energy for the day. Instead of having an hour of daylight in the morning when people are asleep, we have more daylight at dusk and we can make better use of it. Also, my birthday is today, so it is great timing!