Daylight Saving Time 2017: Here's When To Spring Your Clocks Forward

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, this year, and though it's not a change that many look forward to, it does provide some benefits, primarily an extra hour of daylight beginning on Sunday that you can spend with family and friends in the great outdoors.

Did you know that DST was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada? In July of that year, Port Arthur, as Thunder Bay was then known, began to use the system, an action that was followed by other Canadian cities beginning in 1914.

Germany became the first country to use DST nationwide, and its citizens collectively turned their clocks and watches ahead on April 30, 2016. The German government instituted DST in an effort to minimize the use of artificial lighting and save fuel for its war effort. The United Kingdom, France, and other countries quickly followed suit. (Most countries reverted back to standard time after the end of World War I, and went back to it only with the outbreak of World War II.)

In the U.S., President Woodrow Wilson signed a "Fast Time" bill into law in 1918. The initiative was fostered by Robert Garland, a businessman from Pittsburgh who encountered DST in the United Kingdom.

From 1987 to 2006, the U.S. observed DST for about seven months each year, and DST now begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

The system is not without its opponents, of course, and many have raised concerns that children having to go to school in the dark face life-and-death dangers.

Another concern about DST that's nothing to laugh about is the risk of detrimental health effects. Studies have shown that heart attacks and road accidents increase in the days after clocks are set ahead each year. A 2008 Swedish study, for example, demonstrated that the first three days after the change posed the greatest risk for heart attacks.

There are ways to minimize the effects of DST, which include sleep deprivation, something the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says already affects about one-third of adults in the United States. Here are some tips for you:

There are ways to minimize the effects of DST, which include sleep deprivation, something the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says already affects about one-third of adults in the United States. Here are some tips for you:

• You know DST coming. Go to bed an hour early Saturday, and make sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep.
• Get the kids to bed early, too. They pay more attention to their internal clocks than timepieces, so implement the routine Saturday night to help them adjust to the lighter-than-usual bedtime, so they’ll be set up for a good night’s sleep before school on Monday.
• Be patient with the kids. They may throw temper tantrums or show signs of frustration, but it’s usually short lived. Adults can be also be cranky during the first several days after the time switch. You’ll get over it, too.
• New baby? Pretend nothing has changed. That means taking the baby outside, even if it’s cold, to help the baby’s internal clock adjust. Getting 30 minutes of sunlight first thing in the morning will help you, too.
• Limit your vices. That shot of booze may seem like a good idea, but it will fragment your sleep. And, of course, limit your caffeine intake in the late afternoon and evening. Chamomile tea or a glass of warm milk is a better choice.
• Don’t eat a big meal right before bedtime, either.
• If you are using the extra hour of daylight at the end of the day for exercise, make sure your session ends three hours before bedtime, because the energy boost exercise gives you can cause insomnia.
• Wind down with a relaxing activity, like a warm bath or shower, gentle stretching or yoga.
• Let the sun shine in. Experts say that pulling back the curtains and allowing the sun to shine in the windows in the morning improves alertness during the day. You’re also more likely to feel sleepy when it is time to go to bed.
• Turn off the bright lights an hour or two before you go to bed — yes, even the television, your computer and other electronic devices. Read a relaxing book or listen to soothing music instead.
• Don’t give in to the urge for a long nap. Take a brief power nap if you need, but longer naps will disrupt your sleep schedule and make it more difficult to adjust to Daylight Saving Time.
• Make your bedroom is a sleep sanctuary — dark, quiet, well ventilated and at a slightly cooler temperature.

Currently, some 70 countries around the world observe Daylight Saving Time. The farther they are from the equator, the more likely nations are to change their clocks. China, India, and Japan are the only major industrialized nations that don't spring forward and fall back.

The U.S. also has some holdouts — Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

(Patch editor Beth Dalbey contributed to this story.)

Adapted from The Los Angeles Times, Health.com, CBS News, Parents.com and SleepLady.com

— Image public domain