Time, The Avenger

Does time exist? This has been a philosophical quandary for years. For example, the philosophy of time that takes the view that only the present is real is called “presentism,” while the view that all points in time are equally “real” is referred to as “eternalism.” 

Regardless of this argument, time - a man-made concept - does exist. We use a clock to measure time; information about time tells us the durations of events, and when they occur, and which events happen before which others. Nevertheless, despite 2,500 years of investigation into the nature of time, there are many unresolved issues.

One of those unresolved issues is whether we really need to have Daylight Savings Time as part of our world. This is a timely subject since DST ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 5, which means we turn our physical clocks back an hour and “re-gain” the hour we “lost” back in March.

There are advantages and disadvantages to adjusting time. Among the “pro” arguments: while changing the clocks does not create extra daylight, it does impact when the sun rises and sets; this creates an additional hour of natural daylight, and longer evenings, thus both boosting the economy and motivating people to get out of the house. Activities such as boating, golf, shopping, and dining out, are all increased when it’s light out.

More natural light means energy savings, too, because people are less reliant on artificial light for activities. A 2016 study by researchers from Prague’s Charles University and the Czech National Bank on energy use and DST found a positive relationship between latitude and energy savings.

Studies have also found DST contributes to improved road safety by reducing pedestrian fatalities by 13% during dawn and dusk hours, and that there is a seven-percent decrease in robberies following the spring shift to DST. (No word on whether robberies increase seven percent after the autumn shift.)

For all this DST rah-rah, there are some concerns. The biggest negative is health-related. Changing the time disrupts our body clocks. For most people, the resulting tiredness is simply an inconvenience; for others, however, the time change can have more serious consequences. A 2009 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology links the lack of sleep at the start of DST to car accidents, workplace injuries, suicide, and miscarriages. Further, the early evening darkness after the end of the DST period is linked to depression. And the risk of suffering a heart attack is also increased when DST begins. (However, the extra hour of sleep we get at the end of DST has in turn been linked to fewer heart attacks.)

Several states are exploring the idea of removing DST from their lexicon. Florida is not among them, nor does it appear on the horizon in Tallahassee. Nor does moving all of Florida into the Eastern Time Zone; currently, the western half of the Panhandle is in the Central Time Zone. But that’s another discussion for another time.