This is the weekend when those of us in the US and Canada move our clocks forward one hour to observe Daylight Savings Time. Well, for (most of) the residents of the province of British Columbia, this year will be a little different, because Premier David Eby announced on Monday that this time change would be the last one that (most of) the province takes part in, and effective this weekend, they are moving to permanent daylight savings time.
I haven't seen any official polls yet, but the general reaction I'm seeing online seems to be overwhelmingly positive, as the twice-per-year clock changes are very unpopular. However, there is a segment of the population that has spoken up against this quite vigorously: not because they're opposed to getting rid of the semi-annual clock changes, but rather because they are opposed to adopting permanent daylight savings time, and feel they should adopt permanent standard time instead.
People on both sides of the divide seem to have very strong feelings on the issue, so I thought it would be interesting to poll the TrekBBS members to see what their preferences are. I've added a poll to this post where you can register your preference if you live in a DST-observing area.
I know there are arguments on both sides. I also know that most of the experts you ask will say that standard time is the better option, since it apparently lines up more closely with our natural circadian rhythm. And I know that an individual's preference could depend on a lot of factors: your chronotype, your job requirements, what age your children are, etc. So please feel free to share the reasoning behind your preference, if you would like.
For me personally, I've always wished to adopt DST permanently. I always dislike it when we move back to standard time every year, and look forward to when we finally get to move the clocks forward again. I really dislike it getting dark around 4:00pm in late December. That's always so depressing. And if we were on standard time year-round, I see no practical benefit to the sun coming up at 4:00am in late June. Having more light at the end of the day, rather than the beginning, just sounds like a much better option to me. I do have a theory, which I'm wondering if it will pan out here, that morning people (either because they are naturally, or their job forces them to be) are more likely to prefer permanent standard time, and non-morning people (like myself) are more likely to prefer DST. So if you want to mention whether you're a morning person or not, I think that would be interesting dimension to look at.
One of the things that I learned about because of this news, is that apparently the US tried an experiment in the 1970s where they stayed on DST year-round... and apparently everyone hated it, and they repealed it, and returned to the semi-annual clock changes, before the scheduled end date of the experiment. I know we have some members who would have been around during that, so it would be interesting to hear your experiences! Conversely, here in Canada, Saskatchewan has been on permanent DST since 1966, and I haven't heard of any massive complaints, or demands to repeal it. The territory of Yukon is also on permanent DST too, although only since 2020, but I haven't heard of any general unhappiness with it, either.
I haven't seen any official polls yet, but the general reaction I'm seeing online seems to be overwhelmingly positive, as the twice-per-year clock changes are very unpopular. However, there is a segment of the population that has spoken up against this quite vigorously: not because they're opposed to getting rid of the semi-annual clock changes, but rather because they are opposed to adopting permanent daylight savings time, and feel they should adopt permanent standard time instead.
People on both sides of the divide seem to have very strong feelings on the issue, so I thought it would be interesting to poll the TrekBBS members to see what their preferences are. I've added a poll to this post where you can register your preference if you live in a DST-observing area.
I know there are arguments on both sides. I also know that most of the experts you ask will say that standard time is the better option, since it apparently lines up more closely with our natural circadian rhythm. And I know that an individual's preference could depend on a lot of factors: your chronotype, your job requirements, what age your children are, etc. So please feel free to share the reasoning behind your preference, if you would like.
For me personally, I've always wished to adopt DST permanently. I always dislike it when we move back to standard time every year, and look forward to when we finally get to move the clocks forward again. I really dislike it getting dark around 4:00pm in late December. That's always so depressing. And if we were on standard time year-round, I see no practical benefit to the sun coming up at 4:00am in late June. Having more light at the end of the day, rather than the beginning, just sounds like a much better option to me. I do have a theory, which I'm wondering if it will pan out here, that morning people (either because they are naturally, or their job forces them to be) are more likely to prefer permanent standard time, and non-morning people (like myself) are more likely to prefer DST. So if you want to mention whether you're a morning person or not, I think that would be interesting dimension to look at.
One of the things that I learned about because of this news, is that apparently the US tried an experiment in the 1970s where they stayed on DST year-round... and apparently everyone hated it, and they repealed it, and returned to the semi-annual clock changes, before the scheduled end date of the experiment. I know we have some members who would have been around during that, so it would be interesting to hear your experiences! Conversely, here in Canada, Saskatchewan has been on permanent DST since 1966, and I haven't heard of any massive complaints, or demands to repeal it. The territory of Yukon is also on permanent DST too, although only since 2020, but I haven't heard of any general unhappiness with it, either.
