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Published March 8, 2019
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Loved by some, loathed by many, daylight saving time has wide-ranging and often surprising implications.
Here are the myths and truths.
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It saves energy
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Nope. A US Department of Energy study found daylight saving (not "savings!") time reduces annual energy use by just 0.03%. Other studies actually found increases in energy consumption during DST.
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You really DO feel cruddy for a few days afterward
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The clock changes can raise the risk of accidents by sleep-deprived motorists, according to a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine study.
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You're less likely to be robbed during daylight saving time
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In 2015, the Brookings Institution found that robbery rates for the first day of DST fall an average 7 percent, with a 27% drop during the evening hour that gained extra sunlight.
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Farmers loved it
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Farmers actually fought proposals to implement daylight saving time. Their argument was that the changes cut productivity. One agricultural lobby argued to repeal it back in 1919.
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Fewer and fewer of us think it's worth the trouble
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Just 33% of surveyed American adults think daylight saving time is "worth the hassle," according to a 2014 Rasmussen poll.
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