For many of us, Daylight Saving Time is a great thing! We get more sunlight. We don’t have to drive home from work in the dark.  Our kids get to play outside longer. However, also for many of us, Daylight Saving Time means less sleep. It’s confusing. I know personally, I’m still recovering from the effects. It’s kind of like jet lag – not as severe, of course, but it’s hard to get used to going to bed an hour earlier.

The following are some really interesting things many people don’t know about the true effects of Daylight Saving Time:

• First, I didn’t spell it wrong. It’s actually Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time as most people say it.
• Disturbance of sleeping patterns, making people more restless at night. “Night owls” have a much harder time than morning people, according to a recent research study.
• During the first week of Daylight Saving Time, heart attacks spike. Even one hour’s lost of sleep can make people more prone to a heart attack. In the fall when Daylight Saving Time is over, heart attacks become less frequent for a short time period.
• Daylight Saving Time reduces lethal car crashes and “hit and run” pedestrian accidents. Another research study estimates that if we had DST all year, 195 motor vehicle deaths and 171 pedestrian deaths would be prevented.
• In 2005, a law signed by President George W. Bush extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks. So it now begins at 2:00 am on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
• Several other countries observe DST, but many don’t do so on the same day we do. This creates confusion for international travelers, business communications and more.
• Neither Arizona nor Hawaii observe DST. Neither do four U.S. Territories – American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Indiana only adopted DST in 2006.
• Daylight saving time was first used during World War I, as an effort to conservve fuel. Theoretically DST saves more fuel and energy because it reduces the need for artificial light. However, there’s also a lot of evidence to the contrary so this point is up for debate.
• Benjamin Franklin wasn’t just responsible for cliches, the Almanac, discovering electricity and more. He was the American proponent for DST. In 1784, he realized more people burned candles at night but slept past dawn in the summer, “wasting” daylight.

There’s a lot of controversy over keeping Daylight Saving Time. But the government may have a hard time ending this tradition given its popularity among US citizens.