Columbia, South Carolina community members are shown. Amanda Clarke, Nurse Practitioner for Community Health for the Midlands, has found that maintaining a routine during Daylight Saving Time is important, especially for someone working on a shift schedule. “Keep that alarm set in the morning. Keep it set at night. Have a wake up routine, have an afternoon routine.Those routines are really important, and those routines tend to get off a lot when the time changes, and then everyone is a little bit off, and they have a lot of trouble with their day to day,” Clarke said. “(And struggle to find) motivation to wake up when it’s still dark or to wind down when it’s still light, so keeping that schedule is pretty important.” Photos by Anna Flath and Peter Atchley
The switch from standard time to daylight saving time occurs on March 9, taking almost all of the United States back an hour. This precedent means more sunlight in the afternoon, but can also have negative effects on the body.
Daylight saving time was originally introduced in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin in a satirical essay titled “An Economical Project.” In this essay, he explored the idea of waking up and going to bed following the sun, so Paris could save money on candles.
What he didn’t write in the essay was the expectation that countries would actually follow this newly proposed idea. But, when New Zealand entomologist Goegre Hundson jokingly presented the idea in 1895, wanting more daylight in the evening, things changed.
Daylight saving time was officially adopted into United States law during World War II. According to an article published by the U.S. Department of Defense, “In February 1942, Congress implemented a law instating a national daylight saving time to help conserve fuel and ‘promote national security and defense.’”
A map shows countries and how many of their regions will take part in Daylight Saving Time for 2025, according to Time and Date. Map by Lea D’Angelo
Some states in the U.S. eventually opted out of the time switch. In 1968, portions of Arizona announced they would not observe it, with only the Navajo Nation preserving the practice. In 1967, Hawaii pulled out of the 1966 Uniform Time Act, due to its tropical location where they receive consistent daylight throughout the year.
A video of Columbia, South Carolina community member Aiden Coulter talking about daylight saving time is shown above. Video by Anna Flath
Citizens like Cherry Lowrie and Sylvia Lee, a couple who moved to South Carolina three months ago from Hawaii, grew up without daylight saving time. Both Lowrie and Lee have more flexible schedules, Lowrie being a student and Lee a tattoo artist, so the time change isn’t an issue for them.
“(Daylight saving time) never affected our lives. Now that we moved here three months ago, I still don’t understand it really,” Lee said. “I don’t really have set hours. I’ll just adjust my schedule. I can work with it.”
There is a common misconception that daylight saving time played a part in agricultural practices, however, according to an article published by USA Today, a year after it was first adopted, 1918, farmers rejected it, leading to a discontinuation until World War II. They only cared about the sun, the clock had no influence on their crops, causing more issues with the concept. But as time progressed, farmers learned to ignore it, this belief can be seen by North Carolina flower farmers Hue Xiong and Wendy Yang.
“With the new technology you can regularly work throughout the month with lighting (technology),” Xiong said. “Daylight saving times have become obsolete, because you have more indoor lights and greenhouse lights. All sorts of things (that can) help out now.”
While farmers aren’t affected as much, the working class still struggles with the transition. A 12 hour shift can become 13 hours long, and a night’s sleep can be shortened by an hour, causing sleep deprivation. But looking at it holistically, it evens out in the end.
“It definitely evens out, because for every 13 hour shift you get for the fall back, there’s an 11 hour shift you get for a spring forward, and the same thing for sleep,” community member Aiden Coulter said. “Every, you lose one hour of sleep and then you get it back later. It’s not really a net negative or anything.”
A pros and cons list for the effects of daylight saving time is shown above. Graphic by Abigail Holloway
Daylight saving time still has a positive side, being a well established practice for nearly 60 years, if completely halted, chaos would ensue. For senior firefighter, Braden Slater, it doesn’t affect him much and its values lie in order, over effectiveness.
“I feel it’s more traditional at this point. But now, since the whole role is kind of back and forth, should we do it or not? It’s just more tradition at this point,” Slater said. “I like having it around. It gives things for people to look forward to.”
Other positives include that those who work during the day, will have more daylight left after work than before.
“Since I work early in the morning,I do like (that) I have more daylight after I get off work at (5 p.m.),” Department of Environmental Services Intern Alexis Cooper said.
Facts about how to prepare for and manage the effects of daylight saving time are shown above. Graphic by Lea D’Angelo.
While younger generations aren’t affected as much by daylight saving time, the older generations are threatened with the health risks it brings. The change in time of day and sleep patterns can lead to serious issues, including a 24% increase in hospital admissions due to heart failure the day after daylight savings time, according to the American Heart Association.
Amanda Clarke, Nurse Practitioner for Community Health for the Midlands, has seen the health consequences and effects change as she’s gotten older. Whether recognized or not, people feel the effects of the time change, but it’s up to them if it’s worth it.
“I used to stay up all night. I used to hang out during the day, have a job during the day, and then work at night, and pull like 24 hour shifts,” Clarke said. “And the younger I was, the easier I was able to (keep up). But the older I get, the more I tend to fall into if it’s light, I’m awake, if it’s dark, I’m asleep.”
