老司机传媒

Daylight savings—is it the opportunity to sleep in (by trading an hour of sleep in the spring), or the troublesome cause of confusion to our schedule or circadian rhythm? It has been slightly over a hundred years since the U.S. started observing this practice, and the history or purpose has somewhat lost its significance during that length of time. As a matter of fact, people today do not go to bed when the sun sets; they go to bed when their phone turns off. So is there a need to continue this practice even when a significant part of our lifestyle has changed? We asked the university students what they feel and think about this tradition.

"I believe daylight savings has lost its purpose in the past 50 years. Originally intended to save resources, we live in an era where we use more resources to accommodate when we change times. In addition, the disruption of sleep schedules decreases how effectively people deal with stress. As a college student, these disruptions often occur during midterm seasons. Though I find the benefits during the summer of daylight savings, I question why we don't save daylight all year long?"
Christina Stowell (senior, psychology)

"I personally think daylight savings time is nice because it's easier to wake up to broad daylight in the mornings. I would be fine if it didn't exist, but I also mentally associate the time change with the season. As for need, I think farmers and industrial workers need it more than me."
Anastasia Pasechnik (junior, computer science)

“I find it rather unnecessary as I'm from Arizona, where we don't observe it but are in the same time zone as California, and they do.”
Jeffrey Woods (freshman, psychology)

“I think it should stay the way it is now because if we didn't move our clocks back in the fall, sunrise wouldn't be until after 9 am for most of the winter. Walking to class or driving to work in the dark every day doesn't sound appealing.” 
Nolan Keyes (sophomore, mathematics)

“I like daylight savings because it subtracts from the time difference between here and home! I can call my parents at a more convenient time! I just don't like when we lose an hour and that it gets dark earlier.”
Glenielle Sta Ana ( sophomore, speech-language pathology & audiology)

“I'm coming from Arizona, where we don't have to change our clocks. So in between semesters, when I'm coming back after Christmas, it's tough to adjust. But besides that, I honestly don't mind it that much, especially when we gain an hour of extra sleep. I think it makes sense why we change our clocks so that places like Michigan with all four seasons can keep up with nature.”
Ntakirutimana Francine (sophomore, business)

“I am not a fan of daylight savings. I personally don't see the need for it. Growing up, I never experienced daylight savings until I came here. Daylight savings messes with my eating and sleep schedule.”
Vernisha Hodge (senior, speech-language pathology & audiology)

“I actually don't have any strong opinions on daylight savings. It doesn't affect me too much. However, I know there's been evidence of health risks involved, so maybe there may be some merit in reconsidering daylight savings.”
Josiah Deonarine (junior, biophysics)

Although the responses varied, most students showed a disapproval or neutral response towards daylight savings. It could be because most of our lifestyle is not heavily impacted by the time of sunset or sunrise. But there might have been a higher rate of negative responses within our community due to the fact that many of the university students come from various regions around the world, including the few U.S states and most other countries outside of Europe and North America that do not observe this practice. However, it seems likely that the United States as a whole might be abandoning daylight savings in the near future; while it is currently in the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate has approved to stop the twice-annual time change. So it could be likely that many of our students’ disapproval could be reflected in real life very soon.