Time for an Abolition: Daylight Saving Time
In modern society, the issue of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is being hotly debated. While some argue for its continuation, others are calling for its abolition, citing negative impacts on health, inconvenience, and social inequities.
Changing clocks twice a year can disturb people’s internal biological clocks, leading to sleep problems and adverse health effects. This misalignment has been linked to increased risks of heart attacks, strokes, and other health issues if the body does not adjust properly.
The biannual time change also requires everyone to reset clocks, which is seen as inconvenient and can lead to confusion in scheduling, especially across regions and countries that do and do not observe DST.
Moreover, many countries or regions do not observe DST, sometimes due to geographic or cultural reasons, which complicates coordination of time across borders and systems.
From a critical perspective, DST and broader time standardization systems have been critiqued for embedding Eurocentric systems of temporal control that marginalize Black and other minority communities. These standardized time systems can exacerbate social and economic inequities, such as in housing and legal processes where time is weaponized against marginalized groups.
Approximately 70 countries out of 195 observe Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. However, Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not observe some form of daylight saving.
In Canada, the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November are the times when clocks are adjusted for daylight saving time. This practice is often remembered by the Canadian expression, "Spring ahead, Fall behind". Typically, regions that use daylight saving time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring and adjust them backward in the autumn to standard time.
Recently, there has been a push to scrap the time-switch in Canada, with some pointing to the inconvenience and potential health risks associated with DST. There have even been reports of people waking up late due to phones switching to Eastern time in Quebec and Ontario, one week before the time change in Canada. Bell Canada blamed this issue on a software glitch.
However, the necessity of DST in the modern world is still a topic of discussion. As the debate continues, it is essential to consider the potential impacts on health, convenience, and social equity.
Vintage clocks, a popular home-and-garden accessory, can serve as unique reminders of the historical origins of Daylight Saving Time (DST), a lifestyle practice that has been debated extensively due to its potential health, convenience, and social equity implications. As some countries ponder abandoning the practice, the inconvenience and potential risks associated with resetting clocks twice a year, which could be reflected in the ticking of a vintage clock, remain critical concerns in the ongoing DST discourse.
