Don’t Hit Snooze!

With daylight savings quickly approaching, many are waiting excitedly with the knowledge that warm weather is right around the corner. However, though “springing the clocks forward” every second Sunday of March is exciting for many reasons, it also has it’s negative psychological effects, especially among teens in high school. 

Turning the clocks forwards means losing an hour of sleep at night- something most teenagers nowadays struggle with anyways. It has been proven that daylight savings actually creates more daytime sleepiness, causing lack of motivation in classes and low energy levels. When this happens, depression levels, learning ability and lack of social interactions can increase, which can be very harmful to the body.

It is an ongoing battle in many places as to whether the idea of daylight savings should remain intact, or be abandoned. According to UTSouthwestern Medical Center, there are two very strong sides to the debate. Some believe that with the current situations going on in the world such as the Covid-19 pandemic, completely throwing away this traditional method would cause “too much change,” making life for so many people far more difficult than it already is. However, opposing this topic, according to almanac.com, many Americans as well as Europeans agree that daylight savings is rather outdated, as it was originally used to benefit soldiers during WWI.

It’s purpose was simply to conserve energy that was being used for lighting, so by setting the clocks back, they could save on fuel. With current technology, solar power and the internet, these tactics are no longer useful or beneficial to modern day citizens. To many, this occurrence is essentially unnecessary. 

Though both sides do bring up good points, as of the present, daylight savings is still in effect and is something we have no choice but to abide by. That being said, it is important to make sure that though the sun is staying out longer, we as human beings should not be. Getting that standard eight hours of sleep per night is crucial, especially among teenagers who are still physically, emotionally and mentally developing.

Creating healthy habits is the key to staying on top of a busy schedule, without that urge to doze off in class. There are three more months left until summer. So be sure to set those alarm clocks because until then we as students should remember to stay focused, stay grounded and most importantly, don’t hit snooze!