An Indigenous View Of Daylight Saving Time: It's Nonsense

Changing the clocks for daylight saving time runs counter to human nature — and nature itself.

It is that time again. Time to wonder: Why do we turn the clocks forward and backward twice a year? Academics , scientists , politicians , economists , employers , parents – and just about everyone else you will interact with this week – are likely debating a wide range of reasons for and against daylight saving time.

But the reason is right there in the name: It’s an effort to “save” daylight hours, which some express as an opportunity for people to “ make more use of ” time when it’s light outside.

But as an Indigenous person who studies environmental humanities , this sort of effort, and the debate about it, misses a key ecological perspective.

Biologically speaking, it is