Daylight Savings and its Effect on SUA Students
By: Mya Watson ‘24
This year, on March 10, 2024, the clocks will be springing forward an hour taking an hour of sleep away but providing longer daylight hours up until November 3, 2024.
Days seem to be longer with this late night sunlight. Photo Courtesy of Mya Watson.
Twice a year the nation experiences clock adjustments. Time springs forward an hour in the spring to begin the period of daylight savings. In the fall, the time falls back an hour to bring daylight savings to an end.
“It’s inconvenient, I either get less sleep or more sleep. I’d rather just be consistent,” said junior Madison Repass.
Including Repass, a number of students at Saint Ursula Academy state that daylight savings time definitely affects their sleep, but there are other students who really are not affected at all.
“I am able to keep my sleep schedule right on track but I can see how it can be frustrating to lose an hour,” said senior Jayla Shuman.
If it were up to the students at SUA, there would no longer be daylight savings. Graphic by Mya Watson
Daylight savings is a concept that was introduced in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin believed that waking up earlier would lessen the use of candles and save people money. Now that there have been a number of technological advancements, daylight savings is a topic that people all over the nation begin to question.
People throughout the country expressed their thoughts about ending this twice-a-year time change madness. In contrast, Legislators were pushing for daylight savings to be permanent.
Since there were no changes made, here are some ways to prepare yourself for the upcoming time change.
Start to adjust your schedule beforehand.
It is important to get good amounts of sleep throughout the nights leading up to the time change. One way to do this is by going to sleep 15-20 minutes earlier than usual each day. Changing the time of other daily activities could also be beneficial.
Set clocks before bed.
Even though the time change is scheduled to happen at 2 a.m., it may be useful to set your watches, and clocks on household items to the new time before you go to sleep. Most electronic devices and cell phones are set to automatically update following the daylight savings schedule.
Making this change will ensure that you are on time and ready for your day on Sunday morning.
Take a short nap, if necessary.
Throughout the day after the time change, if you find yourself feeling more tired than usual don’t hesitate to take a nap. When you consider taking this nap consider the time, taking a nap later in the day can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
