An end to daylight savings?

Daylight savings is defined as “the practice of moving the clocks forward one hour from Standard Time during the summer months and changing them back again in the fall.” The purpose of this is to maximize the amount of daylight we see. In winter, we get more daylight in the morning, and in summer, we get more daylight in the evenings. However, there have been arguments over how to better utilize daylight, and many have called for an end to the practice of daylight savings. 

Back in March, the Senate voted to make daylight savings more permanent, meaning putting a stop to the changing of the clocks. After changing the clocks in the spring, there would no longer be a change in the fall. Daylight savings would become the new permanent standard time. The proposed bill is called the Sunshine Protection Action. Still, the U.S. Congress is split on the issue. 

Supporters of stopping daylight savings say it will “lead to brighter afternoons and more economic activity.” Frank Pallone, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee commented, “We haven’t been able to find consensus in the House on this yet. There are a broad variety of opinions about whether to keep the status quo, to move to a permanent time and if so, what time that should be.” Critics of making daylight savings permanent are concerned that not changing the clocks will cause children to have to walk to school in the dark during winter. Moreover, school buses and school times would be delayed in the winter as it would take longer for icy roads to melt.

Another argument against permanent daylight savings is the effect on our health and wellness. Studies have shown that losing an hour of sleep in the spring causes “social jet lag” which then “increases the risk of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, raises the risk of heart disease and stroke, worsens mood disorders such as depression, affects the digestive and endocrine systems and shortens our sleep duration.” 

Rather than setting daylight savings as the permanent time, some health experts are in favor of using Standard Time as the permanent time instead. American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s (AASM) spokesperson Shalini Paruthi notes, “Permanent standard time is better aligned to human circadian biology because the natural, daily cycle of light and darkness is a powerful timing cue that synchronizes with your internal body clock […] Daylight saving time increases morning exposure to darkness and evening exposure to sunlight, therefore disrupting the timing of our bodies’ circadian rhythm, causing negative impacts on health and safety.” Circadian rhythms are important because they “prepare your body for expected changes in the environment and, for example, the time for activity, time for sleep, and times to eat.” 

The states that are currently anticipating the passage of the Sunshine Protection Act are Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Right now, the bill is stalled in Congress but 2022 could be the very last time we turn the clocks back in the fall.