One peaceful Saturday night, I went to sleep, content as could be. Sunday morning, I woke up a tired, non-functioning zombie. The cause? One hour of sleep was lost due to the horror that we all know as Daylight Savings Time (DST).

Contrary to popular belief, DST was not invented by Ben Franklin nor was it invented so that farmers could milk their cows earlier. DST originated during WWI, first introduced in Germany in 1916, as an energy saving measure. The U.S. quickly adopted this measure, signing it into law in 1918.

Because it was introduced as a “wartime measure”, the law was repealed in 1918, and the country knew peace for many years. Then came WWII. The law was reinstated to again, save on energy, and in the years following, states alternated between DST and Standard Time (ST) whenever they felt like it, confusing everyone.

Recognizing the chaos that ensued, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which set clear dates and times for when DST would start and end. When the Energy Crisis of 1974 occurred, the nation decided to adopt permanent DST, which would mean no time changes.

However, the Americans of 1974 were apparently wimps because after one day of dark mornings, the public support dropped exponentially low, and Congress quickly repealed the decision after one day.

So that’s the history. The question is, why do we still have DST? In 2018, California voted to end DST (Proposition 7), and switch to ST, permanently. Huge amounts of money were spent on ads, petitions, campaigns, etc to put this on the ballot. Even when 59.75 percent of Californians voted yes, it was never passed due to the proposition being an authoritarian measure permitting the State Legislature to introduce a bill that would actually change the clocks.

Beyond the bill, all states hoping to change their time need federal approval, adding a layer of complexity.

In his 2024 campaign, then president-elect Donald Trump promised to end DS. Now, more than a year into his term, no change has happened.

It isn’t just the inconvenience that DST causes us that make many people hate it; it’s the health effects as well. For many people, it takes days to readjust when the time changes. Days. 

Being sleep-deprived while driving, still adjusting to the new time, has proved fatal on the road. There has been a 6 percent increase following the days after DST in vehicular accidents than any other time.

In Driver’s Ed, we are taught that being sleep-deprived on the road is just as dangerous as driving under the influence. So why are we suddenly expected to do this very thing the minute the time changes? When now it is not just a few tired individuals behind the wheel, but millions?

So what should we, as Americans, do? California has already proven that they do not want DST, and Arizona and Hawaii have already moved away from it. In addition, British Columbia, a province in our neighboring country, Canada, recently switched to permanent DST, getting rid of the time change for good.

So why shouldn’t we?

If you really want to make a difference, write to your local Congress members, cite your sources and pledge your case effectively. For California District 26, our members are Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Representative Julia Brownley.

This way, we can all sleep peacefully, knowing that our time will never change, causing millions of Americans across the country inconveniences in every aspect of life.