The practice of resetting clocks is not designed for farmers, whose ploughs follow the sun regardless of what time clocks say it is.
It does not create extra daylight – it simply shifts when the sun rises and sets relative to society’s regular schedule and routines.
The key question is how people respond to this enforced shift. Most people have to be at work at a certain time – say, 8:30 a.m. – and if that time comes an hour earlier, they simply get up an hour earlier. The effect on society is another question. Here, the research shows that daylight saving time is more of a burden than a boon.
In Australia and the United States shows that daylight saving time does not decrease total energy use. However, it does smooth out peaks and valleys in energy demand throughout the day, as people at home use more electricity in the morning and less during the afternoon. Though people still use more electricity, shifting the timing reduces average costs to deliver energy because not everyone demands it during typical peak usage periods.
The interesting opportunity about Australia is that you have a half-split of states that observe daylight saving time and those that are on standard time.
The researchers compared the sleep patterns of people in states that observe daylight saving against those that don’t, using data from two nationwide questionnaires.
While the evidence does suggest people could lose sleep in the first few weeks, the impact was no worse than jet lag.
However, people concerned about adjusting to the transition can avoid losing sleep by sticking to a strict sleep schedule over the weekend and avoiding staying up late or sleeping in.
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday at 2am AEST, when clocks move forward one hour to 3am AEDT in all states and territories except Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
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