What is daylight saving time? Why do some countries use it? What are its pros and cons

What is daylight saving time?

Each year, the use of this time raises many controversies in the countries which implement it. What is daylight saving time and what are its advantages and disadvantages?

Daylight Saving Time (DST, abbreviated to Daylight Savings Time) is a process of advancing the clock one hour that can begin in spring or summer, in order to take advantage of the extra hours offered by this period of the year, since the day begins earlier in the summer and ends later in the evening, proponents of the practice argue that it can help reduce energy consumption used for lighting during overtime of the day. 

The idea of daylight saving time or clock drives was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, but it wasn't widely adopted until the 20th century. During World Wars I and II, many countries implemented daylight saving time in order to conserve resources for the war effort.

• Benjamin Franklin was the first to apply daylight saving time

Which countries use daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is applied in less than 40% of countries in the world today. Daylight saving time is widely used in the United States, Canada, most of Europe, and Australia. As for the Arab world, it is currently only applied in Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt, and it will be reapplied after a break of more than 6 consecutive years.

The start and end dates of summer time are usually different in these countries, due to the different climate and lighting conditions in each country, but it is usually applied in the spring and then stopped in the fall of every year. 

     Map of countries applying summer time

     The negatives for DST outweigh the positives

• Proponents argue that daylight saving time extends daylight and daylight hours, which will encourage people to spend more time outdoors and indulge in work and physical activities.  They also argue that it reduces energy consumption and crime rates.

•      However, contemporary studies have shown that it does not serve this purpose in the modern world and is only affected by it in Arctic countries that lack light.

•      A disadvantage of daylight saving time is that it can disrupt the regularity of the circadian clock and affect the sleep-wake cycle, after which people need several days to adjust to this change, which can lead to burnout, reduced productivity and errors in some sensitive work.  A 2016 study found that this could lead to an increase in fatal car accidents, especially on daylight saving time.

• DST can also cause confusion and errors in planning and travel, as not all countries and states adhere to DST, so it is important when traveling to ensure whether the country you are traveling to uses daylight saving time or not. 

• In fact, a European poll found that Europeans overwhelmingly want daylight saving time at more than 84% on average, especially northern Europeans.

• In conclusion, daylight saving time is a practice that has existed for more than 100 years in some countries, but its use today has become a subject of great controversy, while it can offer advantages such as hours of longer clarity, and many question its benefits and what negative health effects it may have.  And sleep and productivity, because it caused some errors and confusion in important dates, which caused many to reject it and want to cancel it, as evidenced by European opinion polls.