During World War I, the United States adopted Daylight Saving Time (D.S.T.) to help conserve energy. Once the war ended, many people started to oppose D.S.T. – like farmers! Congress ended up stopping the time change until the U.S. joined World War II. However, like the end of the First World War, Congress again stopped the time change when WWII ended, but this time more people supported it. In 1966, the U.S. government standardized time across the country by passing the Uniform Time Act. This law allows states to decide if they want to observe D.S.T. (The only states that don’t observe it are Hawaii and Arizona.)
But what effect does D.S.T. have on students?
Studies have shown that teens should get between eight and ten hours of sleep per night. However, after our clocks “spring” forward, the average amount of sleep can decrease to 7 hours (the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reported that it decreased to 7 hours, 19 minutes) the following week. For all students, this can make it difficult to pay attention in class. For drivers, it could result in more lapses of attention and taking longer to react while on the road.
