Daylight Savings Time 2012: When and How to Adjust your Clocks on November 3?

"Spring Forward, Fall Back," People are being encouraged to move their clocks back 1 hour before going to sleep tonight (Nov. 3) as Daylight saving time ends Sunday morning, Nov. 4, at 2 a.m.

With the change of clocks comes an extra hour of sleep.

Daylight Saving Time is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and by most of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona), according to the Department of Energy's policy.

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The start and stop dates were set in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Daylight Saving Time Saves Energy?

Daylight Saving Time is being associated with energy savings,  the later it gets dark the less electricity we use. It "makes" the sun "set" one hour later and therefore reduces the period between sunset and bedtime by one hour meaning that less electricity would be used for lighting and appliances late in the day, according to California's Energy Department.

People may use a bit more electricity in the morning because it is darker but energy savings in the evening are believed to make up for that usage.

However, for this season of the year (November, December, January and February) considered as the darkest months of the year, Daylight Saving Time does not save that much energy because the sun comes out later and it sets sooner so there is need for more electricity in both. 

Conspiracy Theories about Daylignt Savings Time

Since it was enacted, the Daylight Savings Time has been the subject of conspiracy theories. Some theories claim that the oil, golf and health industries, among others, pushed Congress to set Daylight Saving Time because they will get more money as a result of the later daylight hours.

The theories claim that because the day is longer and Americans have more daylight free time, they spend it in their cars which translates in increased oil consumption.

However supporters say Daylight Saving Time helps reduce automobile accidents because the schedule keeps more people out in daylight instead of dark and less accidents occur. 

Another conspiracy theory claims that DST also benefits the golf industry because players don't need to cut short their rounds at dusk and lastly, people say, with less hour of sunlight in winter, people don't get the natural benefits of sunlight such as Vitamin D and therefore people need to buy supplements. Another claim is that when the clocks are moved one hour forward in spring, the loss of an hour of sleep increases the chances of heart attacks or make people difficult to adjust to the new sleep cycle.