ST. GEORGE – The clock “springs forward” an hour for daylight saving time at 2 a.m. Sunday; get ready to lose an hour of sleep until fall.
Do you sometimes wish daylight savings time would go away? A few members of the Utah State Legislature have felt the same way. In 2010, Rep. Ken Sumsion proposed Utah cease to observe the time change, followed by Rep. Ryan Wilcox in 2011, Rep. Jim Nielson in 2012 and most recently, St. George’s own Sen. Steve Urquhart during the 2013 legislative session.
Aside from daylight savings time, what do all these bills have in common? Each of them died in committee.
Arguments for doing away with daylight savings time include the belief that it creates physical and mental jet lag-like symptoms, and also puts children who have to go school in early-morning darkness in danger. The latter was one of the reasons Sen. Urquhart cited for wanting to repeal the time change; his version of the legislation, SB 157, was passed over on Feb. 6.
Perhaps the main reason some people don’t like the time change, at least in the spring, is because an hour of sleep is lost and it’s not always easy to adjust. To help people acclimate, Intermountain Healthcare provides the following tips from Dr. Tom Cloward on its LiveWell blog:
- Adjust your clocks before the actual time change so you have a head start.
- Exercise; it helps the body adjust.
- Don’t drink; alcohol can hamper your sleeping cycle.
- Don’t eat too late. A big meal late in the day can also hinder sleep.
- Adjust your surroundings, specifically in the bedroom. According to the blog, “The correct combination of darkness and light can help you adjust to your new schedule.”
Daylight savings time was originally used during World War I as a way to conserve power and was repealed in 1919. World War II saw another nationally mandated version from 1942 to 1945. After the war, states and cities were free to observe or ignore the practice.
The current form of daylight savings time was adopted in 1966 after Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, with the current schedule being passed in 2007.
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.
Now we’ll see if some Troll starts an interminable discussion on whether we should or shouldn’t have Daylight Savings Time. 🙂
I was going to start something but it looks like you beat me to it.
I love love love the longer daylight…I jus hate losing an hour of our lives each day til fall