Reminder: When to Set Clocks Ahead for Daylight Saving Time

We're one step closer to putting this nasty winter behind us: At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9, 2014, our clocks will move an hour ahead (or spring forward) to begin daylight saving time 2014. 

Here are a couple of ideas to consider now that the days are longer. Add your suggestions in the comments.

Start exercising outside. An extra hour of daylight at the end of the day gives you time for a bike ride or walk. Or you can start training now for the Oct. 19 Dunwoody Run 5K. The run also features a one-mile fun run and a tot trot.

Plant some things in your garden. Yes, it’s too soon for plants, but not too early to start planning garden decor. Sort through the garden ideas and decor at area garden centers and nurseries. Or check the links on the Dunwoody Garden Club website for tips, and make plans to attend the club's March 12 meeting.

Add warmer temperatures to the extra hour of sunlight to those temperatures, and you may feel your mood change, too.

"Most people can switch their schedules right away. It really depends on the individual and how much stress they have in their lives," naturopathic doctor Chamandeep Bali of Toronto told The Huffington Post. "If you're the type of person who is always 'go go go', you'll be sleeping less."

Many electronic devices, like your cell phone and computer, automatically adjust when Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

So, why does Daylight Saving Time begin at at 2 a.m., and why shift our clocks at all?

According to Webhibit:

In the United States, 2 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.

The larger reason for shifting our clocks, however, is energy conservation.

Ben Franklin first suggested shifting the clocks to save on candles, according to Discovery, but no one took him up on his idea at the time.

The first official national time shift wasn’t until 1918. Then the United States stopped the practice, started again during World War II for energy conservation reasons, stopped when the war was over and re-started with the Uniform Time Act in 1966. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 lengthened daylight saving to eight months instead of six months.