Don't Forget to Spring Ahead Sunday

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Don't forget to change your clocks this weekend.

Longer days are just around the corner, as people prepare to head forward into Spring.

The United States first introduced daylight saving time in 1918, two years after Germany and other European countries started advancing the clocks to conserve fuel and energy during World War I. Congress abolished the practice after the war, and it was not used again nationwide until President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced year-round DST during World War II from 1942-1945.

The United States also experimented with year-round DST during the 1970s energy crisis, from January 1974-October 1975. The dark winter mornings were not too popular, however, and ever since, the county has switched the clocks back to standard time during the winter months.

Since 2007, DST has begun on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday in November. Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time.

Critics of our current DST schedule argue that changing the clocks twice a year disrupts sleep schedules, increases car accidents as well as the risk of heart attacks, seasonal depression and other health issues. Using DST year-round, as some are advocating, would improve our society’s health, as we wouldn’t have to adjust our clocks and sleep schedules. More evening light during the winter months would also give people extra time to exercise outdoors after work, as well as benefit the economy.

The year-round DST proposal seems to have gained traction after Americans endured an especially long, dark winter marked by the coronavirus pandemic. The South Carolina House of Representatives (H.3879) voted to end the changing of clocks twice a year, making Daylight Savings Time permanent in 2020, but such a change will require the approval of the United States Congress, something which seems unlikely for now.

You don't have to do much to prepare — just remember to set your clocks ahead by one hour before going to bed Saturday night. Or just sleep in on Sunday. It is a day of rest.