Every year, when we move clocks forward for daylight saving time, many people complain about losing an hour of sleep. When I woke up this morning at 6 a.m., it felt like it was still 5 a.m. but in reality it wasn’t. 

One of the things with daylight saving is that I had to get used to it being darker in the morning and also getting used to the sun rising when I got to school. The sun is still up by the time I get home. Now that there are longer daylight hours when I go home every evening, I won’t be out in the dark like last week when I’d be leaving campus. Instead, I’ll have daylight hours left when I’m waiting for the bus. 

Daylight saving time can also help local movie theaters. With indoor movie theaters, more people will stay out longer when there is more daylight outside. And the shift drives local spending, boosting businesses that operate in the evening. 

Daylight saving also reduces crime such as burglary, sexual assault, murder/homicide because there is more daylight outside for these crimes to not occur. With the daylight outside, it also improves road safety because people are less likely to get into car accidents because of more light outside.

It also gives more people time for leisure after work and school. Which also helps with productivity at workplaces since workers are able to take care of themselves. With more daylight outside people will exercise more in the evening. For example last summer I did a lot of running to prepare for cross country this past fall.

The extra daylight outside is also associated with improved mood and increased productivity. With the increased evening sunlight it boosts serotonin levels by providing a sense of relaxation and better mood regulation.