Daylight saving – playing with time!

      ‘Time and tide waits for no man’, we all have been taught about this since childhood and experience it along the course of our life. While this thought shall never change, no matter how many technological advances we bring in or how many breakthroughs we target at, daylight saving is one little exception that forces time to wait!

       As we put an end to daylight saving on 1^st November by switching our clocks back by an hour, we experienced the magic of creating time. At 1:59 am, when our digital clocks shifted back to 1 am rather than moving to 2am, we were about to experience one extra hour in our lives! Though additional set of 60 minutes may appear as a small, little change, my first ever encounter was totally interesting. 

     

      Excited to witness this rather unusual trend, as my eyes were glued to the clock on cell phone, staying awake at such an odd hour was totally worth it. After all, we were about to grab an extra hour for sleeping, anyways! Breaking the stereotype of 24 hours a day, we had 25 hours in our hand.

       Curious about this exciting phenomenon, as I turned to ‘Google’ for all the answers, there was so much to read about. From history of daylight saving to its advantages limited to the past, from controversies about its significance today to its irrelevance in modern times, from undesirable effects on body clock to impact on general life, daylight saving was surely a hot topic; enjoying all the attention.

A look at its birth

    Daylight saving was introduced in many countries of the Northern hemisphere during the summer months, with an aim to make more use of natural sunlight. Implemented in United States during World War I, it soon became a trend observed till date. While its main purpose was to cope with lack of electricity and perform maximum activities under natural light during summer, shifting the clock by an hour ahead proved helpful.

     For almost 8-9 months as the clock was programmed ahead of time, it enabled people to benefit with long days and more light for the evenings. This meant a start to daylight saving, giving 23 hours for the first time when the change was made. The clock was brought back to its original time during fall, putting an end to DST and gifting each one with 25 hours for one single day!

The story today..

      This practice of daylight saving is followed till date, as we run ahead in summer by an hour and come back to the original in fall. Days chosen for the start and end of DST are weekends as this facilitates people to come back to their normal schedule during the week. By pushing ahead 1.59 am to 3 am in summer, we begin our day early and by moving back 1.59 am to 1 am in winter, we enjoy an extra hour.

      With controversies about its significance today, many states among the United States are proposing an end to this practice.

Impact on life

     Wondering about these man-made changes to the natural course of time, made me realize that disturbance to nature can impact life to certain extent.Start to daylight saving appears normal as we are all used to flying speed of time. Shifting ahead by an hour seems usual as time never waits for anyone! It does disturb the body clock to a certain extent as we lose one precious hour of our lives.     

     On the other hand as we gained an extra hour on Sunday, the day appeared exceptionally long. While long Sundays are certainly a boon, an abnormal shift to the clock did leave an impact on the mind. Reminded about this extra time all along the course of day, it was impossible to stop thinking. Change of 60 minutes spelled out an effect when stomach demanded early food!

      Besides this shift of body clock, daylight saving has an effect on machinery in industries programmed for round the clock or staff working on shift basis. While the effect of this comes back to normal after a day, it does involve adjustments. Though network auto-updates this change with cellular phones, laptops and computers displaying the correct time instantly, manual clocks and watches need thoughtful shift.

    If one misses to make this change at the start of saving, it may lead to delay by an hour, with chances of being labelled ‘non-punctual’. While error in the shift at end of daylight saving will mean being ‘overly’ punctual!

      

What it meant to me!

      While debates about the pros and cons of DST are fresh and live in the government, I wonder if the weight-age of my request shall add any value! With 12.5 hours away from people back home, as we have further moved to a difference of 13.5 hours, new adjustments will have to be made. Adding to the already existing chaos, as our off-track comments and messages shall enter into the common group, this daylight saving change may force us to be an ‘outcast’!

       

     Shifting hands of my wrist watch was exciting as it gave me the feel of creating time. Talking about this difference, as my mother mocked us for playing with time, the least I could offer was ask them to shift their clocks as well! 

    Though the real purpose of this DST may have been lost in the long run, this novel experience does add some excitement.

 P.S: Special thanks to my Dad for a long and patient virtual discussion on this DST and mention of my husband for a live one (sorry hubby, not just your wife but even this keyboard refused to type out thanks to you!)