The overall idea is that people prefer to do things in daylight, so “extending” the day by an hour could be beneficial to just about anyone.

However, that’s not exactly the case. Farmers, for example, have been famously opposed to daylight saving time because it disrupts their usual schedule.

Historically, those arguing that daylight saving time should be turned permanent have brought up potential energy-saving measures as major benefits to the practice.

“Household lighting and electricity use is one of the biggest energy savers,” explained Nick Loris, economist and VP of public policy at C3 Solutions. Basically, the longer there is sunshine outside, the less likely you are to turn on your lights at home, therefore saving energy.

However, there have been studies pointing to the flaws of that view.

“If people are going out after work ― driving to restaurants or going to the mall, for example ― they are using more gasoline than they otherwise might, so that reduces some of the energy savings,” Loris explained. “Also, technology has vastly improved the efficiency of our appliances, so families are saving less than they used to from daylight saving time. The way we use energy is much different than our parents and grandparents, which, again, makes the energy savings argument a little dubious.”