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Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a debatable system of creating more sunlit time in the evening by advancing clocks. Generally, clocks are moved one hour ahead in spring and set back in autumn, when the period of daylight becomes shorter. The return to Standard Time (ST) has an effect of shifting one hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. During the transition from standard time to DST one hour of local time is skipped so that this day has only 23 hours. The day of transition to standard time has 25 hours.

One of the key reasons for the practice of DST, which is observed by many countries of the world, is that it reportedly saves energy because less artificial light is needed during evenings. However, DST influences not only energy use, but also traffic safety, business, and leisure, human health, etc.

The concept of daylight saving time is closely connected with the system of time zones, which is accepted by most countries of the world. Each of 24 time zones differs by an hour from the time zone next to it. However, some time zones don't observe daylight saving time, and several places divide their region into half-hour time zones, which makes the system too complicated. Most of the countries situated in equatorial and tropical time zones do not have Daylight Saving Time. Since the number of the daytime hours is almost the same every season, there is no benefit in adjusting the clocks there. Countries situated in the southern hemisphere, where summer begins in December, observe Daylight Saving from October to March. In addition, throughout the history more unusual systems of DST have been used, such as adjustments of twenty and forty minutes, adjustments of two hours, long-lasting DST, etc. For example, in the USA during World War II daylight saving time lasted more than three years and was called “War Time”.

Cancellation, adoption and changes of daylight saving in different time zones can be made by political bodies. To get to know the current local time in a certain country with the information related to daylight saving time one should use the world clock.

The first written suggestion of daylight saving time comes from a satirical essay by Benjamin Franklin (1784). In his letter to the “Journal of Paris” he expressed an idea that it would be advantageous for the productivity if people went to bed earlier and woke up earlier. However, his idea was not developed into a concept of advancing the clocks as he only suggested awakening the populace with cannons. The practical implications of prolonging daylight time were fully realized a century later due to the advent of the communications and transport networks. The idea of modern DST was first put forth in 1895 by G.V. Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist. Still, many researchers mistakenly ascribe the invention o f modern DST to an English house builder W. Willet, who conceived this concept independently in 1905 and tried to promote it as best as he could.

In 1916, Germany became the first country to adopt the practice of daylight saving time, realizing its value in economizing on coal during wartime. Germany’s allies immediately followed the suit. Great Britain, some of its allies, and some European countries, which remained neutral during war time, also accepted the practice of DST for the same reason of saving energy. In 1918, daylight-saving time was finally adopted in the USA. When the war came to an end and DST practice was no longer imperative, some countries cancelled it, and some not. This led to spotty and non-uniform use of DST around the world, which brought about problems, unpleasant incidents and even fatalities. For instance, oversight of a change to DST was the cause of a major train wreck in France.

DST has arisen much controversy since its introduction. It was abolished in the USA after the war, with many people claiming that it was nothing else than a cynical attempt to make people live according to easily controllable patterns. Farmers were the least enthusiastic about it, making a sober point that it imposed difficult working conditions on them. Since the standardization of Peacetime Daylight Saving in the USA, the continued observation of DST has mainly been lobbied by government officials representing industries which capitalized on DST due to additional shopping hours in the afternoon.

Furthermore, many opponents of DST call into question the supposed energy savings and other benefits associated with it. Although it is claimed that DST brings about a reduction in energy usage, a number of studies demonstrate that increased activity on prolonged days in fact leads to more energy consumption.

As for traffic fatalities, two possible relations between the number of accidents and daylight saving time have been revealed. The first relation is the reduction of concentration due to a disturbed circadian rhythm. Even insignificant changes in the amount of sleep can produce major consequences in everyday life of people. An hour's change is enough to disrupt sleep patterns and it usually takes up to five days after each time adjustment to return to normal sleep patterns again. The lost hour of sleep due to transition to daylight saving time generally results in a jump in traffic accidents. Another relation between the number of accidents and daylight saving time is more likelihood of pedestrians being killed in darkness than in daylight.

Moreover, it is not only about traffic accidents. The changes in sleep patterns sometimes cause serious health problems, which is the reason why some governments have repealed the practice of DST.

When viewed from business standpoint, DST brings about both positive and negative consequences. For example, while storefront shops boost their sales due to the extra daylight hour during summer, other businesses, like movie theaters and book stores, experience decline for the same reason.

One of the obvious benefits of DST is the decreased number of crimes, such as theft and assault, which are usually committed in the dark.

Although it is not yet clear whether the advantages of daylight saving time outweigh its disadvantages, this practice is likely to be used in many countries of the world for years to come.