As per usual, most of us experienced Daylight Saving Time this Saturday, falling back an hour, gaining an hour of sleep. Despite all the ridicules Daylight Saving Time gets from many critics across the nation, the time change that Daylight Saving Time has is a positive thing for those who experience it because of the positive effects it has on the human body due to faster sunrise, quicker sunset, and a plus to your daily routine. 

Just for a quick reminder, Daylight Savings is when we “fall” back to Standard Time, compared to when we “spring” forward Daylight Time in the spring. 

One thing that changes when Daylight Saving Time occurs is that it gives us longer hours of light in the evening by shifting sunset (and sunrise) later. Standard Time gives us brighter mornings by shifting sunrise (and sunset) earlier; brighter mornings encourage a faster wake up time and are much easier to gain energy to start your day.

In a 2019 study, a researcher found that exposure to morning sunlight results in greater alertness. Exposure to morning light can also lead to better sleep, which can have beneficial effects on your body the next day, according to an article on Elemental.com. And in a 2017 study published in the journal “Sleep Health,” people who are exposed to sunlight in the morning sleep better at night and feel less stressed and depressed than people who don’t get access to morning sunlight.

Your daily routine also gets affected by switching to Standard Time through Daylight Saving Time. Since there are brighter mornings, it is easy to get an exercise in at the gym or just simply running outdoors to get your blood pumping through the day with the sun out. It also means that it will not get dark as fast so you can still get your activities done when the sun is still out, and if you have a job, it will still be light outside after 6 p.m. compared to before the clock changed (which was about 5 p.m. in the evening).

With that being said, as soon as the sun starts to go down, it sets very quickly. Nightfall seems almost immediate, making it seem like the day is done, leaving minimal determination to get school work done. But, that doesn’t seem to be a problem according to a new discovery by postgraduate student Martin Sale along with his colleagues from the University of Adelaide. 

According to “Science Daily,” Sale’s group found that humans learn more effectively in the evening, and targeted learning activities at that time of day are most successful.

There is one downside to Daylight Saving Time — not all countries, let alone all 50 states in the US, reset their clocks.

According to Statista.com, fewer than 40% of countries in the world currently apply Daylight Saving Time switches, but more than 140 countries had implemented it at some point. As of right now, only two U.S. states – Arizona and Hawaii – have abandoned changing the clocks, both adopting permanent winter/standard time.

So, as you can see, the switch upon which Daylight Savings time makes is not so bad. It promotes faster learning during darker evenings and a faster wake up time in the morning because of the quicker sunrise.