The Cost of Daylight Saving Time

It's the time of year when people arrive at work, looking quite groggy and they head straight for the coffee pot because the time change threw their internal clocks out of wack.  Most of us can't figure out why we do this other than the government wants it done.

Unfortunately, there is a cost associated with this time of year when we go onto Daylight Saving Time.

It is well known that when clocks are turned forward, there is an increase in heart attacks, workplace injuries in certain sectors, and increased car accidents.

Furthermore, productivity decreases in the spring when clocks move forward an hour.  One study indicates the amount of energy used also increases during this same period.

A common thought is that with the extra hour of daylight, people are likely to stay out and spend more money, helping businesses  but according to studies this is not true.  The increase for small businesses appears to be marginal at around a 0.9% increase in spending via credit cards but when the clocks turn back, the amount drops by over 3%. It has been estimated that this can cost the economy between $430 million and $1.7 billion in when clocks are changed twice a year.  The second figure is based on the idea that time is money.

Now for some very specific stats in regard to Daylight Saving Time.  In the mining industry, the shift results in an 6% increase in injuries and the numbers of workdays lost increases by 67%.  In addition, the amount of surfing for entertainment and related categories increases between 3.1 and 6.4% on the Monday immediately following the change.  This means people are working less by that amount.

According to mathematical predictions, heart attacks on the Monday immediately following the time shift increases by 5%.  Furthermore, we loose about 40 minutes of sleep in the first day on Daylight Saving Time which can hurt our judgement due to sleep deprivation because the change throws off our internal clocks and makes us restless.  It has also be noted that judges hand out sentences that are 5% harsher than usual on this same Monday.

Furthermore there is some evidence that the change also effects SAT and other test scores and the stock market.  So as you can see, there is an economic (mathematical) cost involved in moving the clocks one hour ahead.

Its easy to go to the internet to find averages for heart attacks on any one day, or mining injuries, or sales and apply these figures to them to see how the numbers change.  Students could also look at these same figures for the month before and month after, or even week before and week after to see how the numbers change before preparing the information in graphical form.

This would be a good topic to have students create a news report, a presentation against going on Daylight Saving Time, a informational pamphlet, or something similar.  I hear we shouldn't have students make posters, etc anymore but I believe these types of things are worth doing if they are put in context and the suggested activities fall within that realm.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.