Edhat Staff
We’re back to that time of year again. The holidays are looming, the air is getting a little cooler, pumpkin spice is flavored with every meal and beverage, and now we’re ready to wake up to sunlight and drive home in the dark.
At 2:00 a.m. Sunday, the clocks will “fall back” one hour to standard time, meaning we all get an extra hour of sleep. Unless you’re a farmer who works on the sun-up and sun-down schedule, then it’s all the same for you.
In Santa Barbara, the sun will rise at 6:24 a.m. and set at 5:01 p.m. on Monday for about 10.5 hours of sunlight.
Local fire departments also take this as an opportunity to remind folks that this is the perfect time to check that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.
Here are some fast facts about this time of year:
1. IT’S DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME, NOT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
A common linguistic misstep that happens to all of us, but drop that “s” from Saving and you’ve got it right.
2. WHAT’S THE POINT OF “SAVING” DAYLIGHT HOURS?
It started during World War I in the U.S. as an attempt to conserve energy. The theory was that shifting the number of daylight hours into the evening, the fewer time lights would need to be on, thus “saving” electricity.
3. DOES IT REALLY WORK TO SAVE ELECTRICITY?
Not really. Most analysts and studies are mixed, but they all tend to agree that a definite yes or no is unfounded. It may reduce light/electricity usage, but gas and heating use could increase, which pretty much cancels one another out.
4. IS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME DANGEROUS?
Some would say yes. Our internal/biological clocks are not fans of getting messed with, so people with pretty solid sleep schedules are disrupted and have a hard time adjusting. This could lead to drowsiness and potential mental dullness. Some studies suggest that traffic accidents increase after we spring forward, when losing one hour of sleep.
5. WASN’T THERE ALREADY LEGISLATION ON THIS?
There was, but since 2018 the federal “Sunshine Protection Act” has been stalled in the House. It’s almost like, people can’t agree on anything these days. Earlier this year in California, there were two bills pending to repeal Daylight Saving Time. On May 23, the state Senate approved an amended bill to require the state to study the near- and long-term effects of permanent standard time (particularly on energy demands) and submit it to the Legislature by 2027. Read more on these here.
