DST 2010 concludes: US clocks roll back by an hour

So roll back clocks by an hour and enjoy an extra sleep time that you might have lost when clocks were moved ahead to adjust them to DST, a ritual observed every spring.

The practice is aimed at conserving energy and power as time is adjusted in a way that afternoons and evenings have more daylight.

The DST officially began at 2: 00 a.m. on March 14 this year, when U.S. residents moved their clocks one hour forward, and ended today, Nov. 7, at 2:00 a.m. with clocks set backwards.

The saying, 'Spring Forward, Fall Back,' has its origin in this practice of moving clocks ahead in spring and back in autumn.

As the federal government has not made it mandatory for states to observe DST, residents in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona never adjust clocks.

Research done in past have proved that DST not only adversely affects sleep patterns, it also leads to more energy consumption.

DST: originally suggested by Franklin
Ever wondered whose idea was it to better utilize sunlit afternoons and evenings.

It was conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his tenure as American delegate in Paris in 1784.

One night Franklin was disturbed by accidental noise at 6:00 a.m., and was surprised to see his room filled with light.

Initially he thought that new oil lamps was the source of light, but he soon found that it was the sunlight.

Realizing that there is more day light in summers, he inferred that people were not utilizing daylight hours and unnecessarily wasting candles.

Assuming that 100,000 Parisian families burned half a pound of candles per hour for seven hours per night between March 20 and Sept. 20, Franklin concluded that citizens used candlelight for 128,100,000 hours, and total cost came to 96,075,000 livre tournois.

Considering the wastage, Franklin, in letter to editors of ‘Journal of Paris’ stressed on importance of utilizing daylight hours in afternoons and evenings.

Tracing the origin
Though the idea was proposed by Franklin, it was first practiced by Germany during First World War. The country moved clocks one hour ahead on April, 30, 1916 to preserve energy for war production by better using daylight hours.

Soon other countries followed suit. In United States, DST was made official on March 19, 1918 but observance was quite inconsistent.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 cleared confusion by establishing one pattern. The DST began on first Sunday on April and ended on last Sunday of October in the nation.

Over the years, the act has been revised. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended DST beginning in 2007.

Since then DST begins at 2:00 a.m. on second Sunday of March and concludes at 2:00 a.m. on first Sunday of November.

Going by the same logic, DST will start on March 13 in 2011 and end on Nov. 6.

Is springing forward and falling back worthwhile?
The DST is being observed, but is the purpose being fulfilled?

Research done in past has proved that DST not only adversely affects sleep patterns, but also leads to more energy consumption.

If some power is saved by switching lights, more is consumed through heating and air conditioning, states a 2009 study conducted by researchers of University of California, Santa Barbara.

The conclusion of the ritual also has negatives. The end might mean an hour of extra slumber, but DST has been criticized.

Claiming adjustment of clocks a hassle, many have confessed forgetting to reset clocks, which has adversely affected work.

Also, end of DST means more darkness during time of rush hours, when the traffic is at its peak and people head home. This has resulted in road accidents, state many studies, including research done by National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF).

Even health studies have stated that readjustment of sleeping time coupled with early darkness, upsets biological clock and makes drivers more drowsier, thus increasing risk of accidents.