HELENA — What a day! It's only an hour, and it's not like we're all given an extra hour of life, but when daylight saving time goes into effect in the spring and the sun sets an hour later in the evening, it's like a holiday. So many people celebrate the light out later.
Yes, there are plenty of people out there who like the earlier light in the morning. Some suggest staying on daylight standard time year-round. If that were the case, the earliest sunrise of the year for the entire country would be somewhere between 3:45 am and 4:30 am. The early bird gets the worm, but who's utilizing sunlight at 4:00 am? Conversely, staying on daylight saving time, the latest sunrise for most of the country would be 8:30 am to even 930 am.
In recent surveys, the majority of participants just do not want to change the clocks. A smaller majority wants to stay on daylight saving time.
The Monday after daylight saving time in the spring is a day with higher heart attack rates. By eliminating the time change, that problem goes away.
Other benefits of staying on daylight saving time are less energy consumption in the evening. Extended daylight is thought to encourage consumer spending. There are claims of reducing traffic accidents and crime rates, and of course, lifestyle improvements with more outdoor activities and leisure.
Just one hour, and the most contested hour of the year.
