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A Temecula (California) Patch reader subscribes to the logic of KISS — “keep it simple, stupid” and claimed to be tired of “changing the clocks and acclimating to the change.”

A Bridgewater (New Jersey) Patch reader offered this: “It not only is annoying for people, it’s also annoying if anyone has pets to get used to the time change. Just keep it the same all year.”

A Hillsborough (New Jersey) Patch reader has a different idea.

“Why don’t we just split the time? Instead of an hour, just do half an hour and then leave it like that,” the person said. “Each side gets something and no more changing.”

Daylight saving time was first implemented in the United States in 1918, but it lasted only seven months before being repealed. President Franklin Roosevelt reintroduced it during World War II. “War Time,” as it was known, aimed to conserve fuel and energy by extending daylight hours for industrial activity in support of the war effort. It was in effect from February 1942 until September 1945.

DST became a regular practice following the Uniform Time Act of 1966. There was a brief period of permanent DST in 1974, a response to the 1973 energy crisis. However, it was unpopular and did not achieve its intended energy conservation goals.

‘Killed The Drive-In’

Some readers groused about what they see as the folly of daylight saving time. Others grumbled about DST as a crime against nature.

A Manalapan (New Jersey) Patch reader who finds the twice-a-year clock changes both physically and psychologically disruptive said the mid-20th century wartime argument for DST “is no longer applicable.”

“DST does not, as has often been purported, benefit farming and agriculture,” the reader said. “Revolutionary advances in technology have also made DST irrelevant, insofar as we have other means and resources that, if used intelligently, negate the rationale for DST.”

Agricultural benefits were never the government’s sales pitch to the American people to embrace DST. In fact, many livestock farmers oppose it. One reason: If cows are accustomed to being milked at 5 a.m., milking would have to start an hour earlier during DST. Farmers who have grain operations are less affected, and may benefit from more daylight at the end of the day during planting to harvest times.

A Ferndale (Michigan) Patch reader heard that myth about the origins of DST.

“BS,” the reader said. “My grandfather said, ‘The cows could not tell time. It was for the golfers!’”

The Ferndale reader is not a fan of DST, saying that extending daylight later into the evening “killed the drive-in.”

Energy-conservation goals that made sense when many Americans didn’t have electricity and were burning gas, kerosene or whale oil don’t mesh with modern realities, a Milton (Massachusetts) Patch reader said.

“Now, if it’s dark for 16 hours per day, what difference does it make if the lights are on in the morning or evening?” the reader said. “Don’t make us change the clocks and mess up our biorhythms twice a year.”

“Abandon this practice,” a Columbia (Maryland) Patch reader said. “It’s antiquated and unnecessary in modern times. Why mess with people’s circadian rhythm twice a year?”

‘Government Holding This In Limbo’

“It’s 2024,” said a Woodbury (Minnesota) Patch reader who doesn’t have an opinion on whether permanent standard or daylight saving time is better.

“The fact that we are still doing this seems ridiculous. This is obviously something lawmakers agree on — for once,” the reader said, adding the rhetorical question, “Are we really surprised our government is holding this in limbo?”

With rare unanimity early last year, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act that would make DST the year-round time. Health experts say the now-stalled bill has it backward, and that standard time should be made permanent.

A Bridgeport (Connecticut) Patch said either permanent DST or standard “would be fine with me, but no more turning the clock forward or backward, please.”

“It’s the people, not the businesses, who [Congress] should be listening to,” the person said.

Multiple readers seized on the physical and mental health effects associated with the current practice, though they differed on what the permanent time should be if it were abandoned.

“Health comes first! Consistent sleep cycles ward off serious health issues. Respect nature’s timeline,” a Towson (Maryland) Patch reader said.

“I suffer the entire time we change clocks to standard time, as do many others,” said a Massachusetts Patch reader who wants to see year-round DST. “It is always a huge health (mental and physical) adjustment when we change back to standard time.”

The reader also cited economic advantages and utility savings associated with DST and advanced a not-often-heard but factually true argument: Because it can place stress on delicate gear mechanisms, “it’s not mechanically good for our clocks to turn the hands backward.”

A Hartford (Connecticut) Patch reader simply said, “Don’t mess with Mother Nature.”

‘America Needs Those Few Extra Hours’

An Illinois Patch reader who lives in the Chicago area prefers year-round DST and said “people will adapt.”

“Farmers can alter their time based on daylight. The working population can allow for flexible hours and factory workers can do the same. The kids can start school later so they won’t be catching the bus in the dark,” the reader said. “Scandinavian countries are dark more than half the day in winter, fall and spring and are the happiest people in the world.”

An Ohio Patch reader who lives in Westerville said daylight until 9:30 p.m. makes it safer for kids’ activities in the summer. And the reader also thinks year-round DST would be good for America in general.

“America spends too much time indoors,” the reader said. “That feeling of having summer hours left to enjoy after work — America needs those few extra hours. We are a mess of a country and need the relief of just a few short hours of daylight.”

“People would go outside after dinner for walks, feel safer, shop or eat out, go to sporting events,” a Herndon (Virginia) Patch reader said, listing the virtues of permanent DST.

A Pennsylvania Patch reader who favors DST as the permanent time doesn’t mind changing the clocks and said it doesn’t take that long to physically adjust to the time switch.

“But I do hate the adjustment to more darkness,” the Bristol resident said. “I would be happy on daylight saving time all year. But, if we have to change clocks just to keep daylight saving time, I’m OK with it. I would hate being stuck on standard time all the time, especially in the summer.”

A Los Angeles Patch reader who isn’t looking forward to the end of daylight saving time said “it’s depressing when it gets dark at 4 p.m., adding to what can often already be a depressing season of the year — winter.”

“It is awful to get out of school or work to find it’s already dark. It saps your energy, mood and ambition,” the reader went on. “Falling back messes with my mood and my health. I’d much rather have it be dark and moving toward light in the morning than have it dark so early in the afternoon, making what feels like a much longer night.”

“Going dark so early in the winter is very depressing, and there’s no reason for it,” a Toms River (New Jersey) Patch reader said. “I’m sure an extra hour of daylight in the evening when virtually everyone is awake, is more beneficial than the extra hour of light in the morning when the majority may still be sleeping.”

Dark Mornings Vs. Dark Playtime

One of the things that sunk America’s experiment with permanent DST in the 1970s was the specter of children going to school before the sun was up.

“Pitch black out late into the morning,” a Chicago Patch reader recalled. “It was abandoned as a foolhardy idea to save energy.”

“Students do not need to be waiting for school buses in the dark with so many reckless drivers racing to work because they are late,” said a Fredericksburg (Virginia) Patch reader who favors permanent standard time.

A Farmington-Farmington Hills (Michigan) Patch reader agrees the darker mornings that come with DST in the winter “are dangerous for kids walking to the bus stop,” and also pointed out the benefits of morning light in setting circadian rhythm.

“It’s not healthy for us to switch back and forth twice a year,” the reader said. “And remember, Michigan is so far west in [the Eastern Time Zone] that compared to states like Maine, we are practically on daylight savings time when we are on normal time.”

Concern about how DST affects school children was prominent in survey responses, but not everyone agrreed on whether dark mornings or dark afternoons put them most at risk.

“Having children in school in the dark afternoon hours is traumatic,” a Pelham (New York) Patch reader said, “Dark mornings are better than dark playtime on the playground,” the reader said. “Let’s keep our times as they are, since we naturally already have dark afternoons due to the season changes. It’s better for businesses, children and parents,”

A New York City Patch reader said the return to standard time in the late fall and winter months is a buzz kill. During DST, “I would go to a restaurant with friends, shop, do laundry, go to the hair salon and take walks — all after work if it’s light outside,” the reader said. “Once it’s dark, I just want to be home.”

A Maryland Patch reader who prefers DST as the permanent time said it allows for more daylight hours for things that matter in life. “I’m more productive in the evenings and can spend more time with family before feeling tired,” the reader said .“Safety of kids doing after-school activities is another reason to stick with daylight savings.”

Short Shrift For Night Shift

Night-shift workers get the short shrift with the current system and “have to work an hour more or less” when the clocks change, said a Parsippany (New Jersey) Patch reader who prefers standard as the permanent time.

“I hate having to live in daylight saving and always feel better when the time reverts to standard,” an Atlanta Patch reader said.

Readers who like more light at the beginning of their days welcome the end of daylight saving time. “I am a morning person and like the daylight earlier rather than later. It is much easier to get up in the morning with light than without,” a Wauwatosa (Wisconsin) Patch reader said.

“I have been to Sweden in mid-summer and in mid-winter,” the person said. “Wow, at least we don’t have to deal with 21-22 hour swings of either daylight or night. Our issue is really minor in the grand scheme of life.”

A Miami Patch reader thinks year-round standard time “feels more natural,” saying it is “easier to wake up with the sun and easier to fall asleep when it’s been dark for a while.”

A Boston Patch reader compared malaise after the twice-a-year time switch to jet lag, with similar effects — “bad for performance, bad for health and even causing more traffic accidents.”

“Thus,” the reader continued, “stop this human control over nature.”

“Daylight saving time throws my body, mind and sleep for a loop,” an Aurora (Illinois) Patch reader said. “I cringe in March and I’m elated in November.”

“Stop messing with Mother Nature!” a Warren (New Jersey) Patch reader said. “Seasonal daylight and nighttime duration changes are gradual and easier for humans to adapt to.”

Or at least stop fiddling with the clocks for the sake of parents and their infants, an Across America Patch reader said.

“Moms don’t like it because babies’ schedules are all screwed up for weeks!” the person said.

‘Strong Enough To Get Over It’

One argument advanced by proponents of both the current system and year-round DST is that more light at the end of the day means more time for activities that cost money.

A New Jersey Patch reader thinks the current system works fine.

“I’m not worried about the commerce. In this country, as it is, we’re all struggling and people work all different hours now. It really doesn’t make a difference whether you’re shopping at night or the morning,” the reader said, adding, “Such stupid thinking.”

The current system also suits a Bronxville-Eastchester (New York) Patch reader.

“As the days get longer, it’s much better to have more daylight going into the evening. As the days get shorter, we need to have the daylight hours start before 7 a.m.,” the reader said, adding, “People make too big a deal about losing or gaining an hour — it’s a bit like having jet lag. We’re all strong enough to get over this and our bodies always adjust.”

A Los Altos Hills (California) Patch who also is attached the current system thinks adopting a permanent time is a lot to ask of Americans.

“The switching after years of practice, another change,” the reader said. “What a nuisance.”

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