This weekend, our clocks will spring forward one hour for what is known as daylight saving time. The argument about whether or not DST is beneficial or necessary has become increasingly more frequent in the last few years. Here are some of the pros and cons that we found.
PROS
- Less car crashes
- Fewer pedestrians struck by vehicles
- Decrease in crime, especially robberies/burglaries
- Safer for joggers, people walking dogs, children playing outside
- More people shopping after work, increasing retail sales
- More people driving, increasing gas sales
- More time to play golf and other outdoor sports
- People spend more time outside in general
- Less need for electricity (lower power bills).
CONS
- People unusually sleepy on following Monday
- Increase in heart attack risk on following Monday
- Initial spike in traffic accidents in the first week of daylight saving time
- Some people never adjust to time change resulting in decreased quality of life and health issues
- Increase in cases of seasonal affective disorder because of shorter winter evenings
- Disrupts eating habits of pets and livestock
- Disrupts harvesting for farmers
- Spending dips after the time change
- Less daylight hours to do things outside
- May interfere with religious groups with holy observances based on solar and lunar time
SOURCES
Top 3 Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time
The Case For and Against Daylight Saving Time
The pros and cons of daylight saving time
