Hard to believe we are already heading into spring and with that comes the changing of the clocks. This Sunday, March 11th, at 1:00am the clocks will cruise forward giving us earlier morning sun and much more sunlight with sunsets taking place around 8:00pm. It’s a great way to get excited for spring and summer but also can throw people a bit for a week or so, especially anyone with small children who need to get used to going to bed with the sun still shining!
There have been many arguments over the years about taking away daylights saving time in the United States. Many countries did away with daylights saving or have never even used it but the US continues to use it. Arizona, for example, can be a bit tricky because some of the parts of the start recognize daylights saving and other parts of it do not so if you happen to be traveling there, make sure to ask around to figure out what time it is.
The history of when daylights savings started goes all the way back to 1895 to a entomologist from New Zealand named George Hudson. He proposed a two-hour time shift so that he would have more after work hours of sunshine. He wanted to have more time to go bug hunting was his main purpose. Then about seven years later, a British builder named William Willett thought up the same idea while he was out horseback riding. He brought the idea to England’s Parliament as a way to prevent the nation from wasting daylight. The idea was shot down by the British government and didn’t come back to light until 1916, two years into World War 1 when the German government was brainstorming ways to save energy. They knew of Willett’s idea and decided to implement it into their daily lives. Back then, coal power was king and so by changing their clocks, people really did save energy by not having to use so much coal.
Today, there is still a lot of back and forth because as many people have pointed out, changing the clocks no longer saves any energy. There also have been studies around the changing of clocks and how it has been linked to higher car accident fatalities, heart attacks and other negative outcomes. But these effects are just temporary, thought to be due to sleep deprivation and circadian rhythm changes.
So before you go to bed Saturday evening, make sure to turn your clocks back and don’t be alarmed if you feel a little groggy on Monday morning! With this weather changing you might be thinking it is a good time to get into the real estate market and if that’s the case, give me a call today I’d love to grab a cup of coffee with you and chat about how we can make your real estate dreams come true!