The scary impact of daylight saving

It may be the one thing that truly divides Australians: the issue of daylight saving.

Now, Bloomberg has gathered new research that seems to prove what people have been saying for some time: the case in favour of daylight saving is shaky.

In fact, it may even be harmful, Bloomberg reports the research suggests, describing the practice of moving clocks forward “dumb, costly and downright dangerous.”

Drawing from research on the impact of clocks going forward in the US, which happened on March 12, the research shows car accidents, strokes and heart attacks spike in the days after the change.  Meanwhile, sleep-deprived judges impose harsher sentences.

And despite claims daylight saving saves energy, a look at the state of Indiana, which implemented daylight saving in 2006, found the residents actually used more electricity.  There’s also a lack of convincing data that having more daylight hours increases consumer spending, Bloomberg found,.

Daylight saving is the practice of moving clocks forward one hour during the warmer months of the year, which happens in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

The latest round of daylight saving, which started in October, is due to end on April 2, which means that much of Australia will be back in the same time zone, at least for a while.

Do you love or loathe daylight saving? Do you think it benefits your state?