Daylight-saving time is here again

Washington, March 8: Remember to reset your clocks at 2 a.m. this Sunday. Yes! The day when America loses an hour of sleep to gain more sunlight the next day is here.

Thanks to the Daylight Savings Time (DST), you need to reset your clocks and watches ahead by an hour. 2 a.m. thus becomes 3 a.m. local daylight time.

By now, most Americans are used to changing time twice a year since this practice has been prevalent for a long time now. Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 by the English builder William Willett, however, the United States established Daylight Savings Time in 1918.

The DST used to begin on the first Sunday of April and used to end on the last Sunday of October. Post 2007; complying with The Energy Policy Act of 2005, the daylight saving period has been lengthened. Accordingly, it starts on the second Sunday in March and the ends on the first Sunday in November.

This annual ritual, also called "Summer Time" by some, enables people to have and utilize more daylight hours during the warmer months of the year. In fact, one of the initial goals of using DST was to trim down the usage of incandescent lighting.

The practice of DST is contentious though. It complicates timekeeping and can disrupt meetings, travel, billing and recordkeeping. On one hand, the exercise is advantageous to activities that take advantage of sunlight after working hours, on the other hand, it harms activities like farming, entertainment and activities depending on the sun.

DST is often blamed for the missed television shows and appointments. Sleeping patterns are disturbed. A study even found an increase in heart attacks during the start of the DST.

The U.S. Naval Observatory’s Web site reveals that Hawaii and most of Arizona make little use of daylight time.