Why do we “Spring Forward” and “Fall Back” every year?
On March 11th we will be “springing it Forward” meaning we will be setting our clocks ahead one hour.
Why do we do this? We move one hour from the morning and add it to the night so that people could make better use of the day light hours. In the summer time the sunshine will last longer and we can make better use of the day when we “spring forward”.
As children we love this time of year because it stays lighter later at night, but as parents…. I don’t know how we feel about the time change.
Did you know that there are several places in the Unite States that do not observe daylight savings time, such as Arizona, Hawaii, and our oversea territories like Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico?
So don’t forget to change your clock on March 11, 2018… Spring Forward
As you may already know the end of Daylight Savings Time is up-coming this Sunday, November 1 2014. But what does the ending of DST really mean? Well you may have heard the expression “Spring ahead — Fall back” over the course of your lifetime.
In the Spring, Daylight Savings Time starts, when we set our clocks AHEAD 1 hour. This allows us to get up earlier so that we may enjoy longer amounts of daylight at the end of the day! There are a ton of added benefits to having more daylight in one day including retail stores staying open later, time for sporting events after school, and more time for activities when getting out of work at 5pm.
In Autumn, we “Fall back”. This “Standard Time” is when we set our clocks back 1 hour. It is said that inventor, Benjamin Franklin, is often credited for being the one to first come up with Daylight Savings Time. “He had proposed to economize the use of candles by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead.” (1)
In the U.S., clocks change at 2:00 a.m. local time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
“2:00 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.” (3)
Daylight Savings Time Changes 2010-2017
For more information about Daylight Savings Time please visit these resources below.
