Summer is over and this Sunday it’s time to turn back the clock, ending Daylight Saving Time this year.
Doctors and scientists say we could save some lives along the way, mainly because people would get some much-needed extra sleep.
It may seem like a harmless habit to set your clocks ahead an hour each spring to “gain” an hour of evening sunlight in the summer. But most Americans enjoy doing it.
But in reality, it’s highly controversial: Doctors, including those from the American Medical Association, say the damage it does to our health isn’t worth it.
Here’s what Daylight Saving Time (DST) means, why it was created, and what we now know about its impact on health:
In the US states that observe daylight saving time, clocks are changed each year on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Daylight Saving Time was originally developed to save energy at night and was introduced in Germany during World War I.
Today, about a third of the world’s countries participate in the twice-yearly clock-changing ceremony, with the majority of them in Europe.
Not all Americans observe daylight saving time. Hawaii and Arizona ignore daylight saving time and use standard time year-round. Both states argue that adjusting your clocks is pointless if you live near the equator, where sunrise and sunset occur at roughly the same time each day.
Recent studies show that daylight saving time may not save us energy, but it may cost us dearly. Indiana only switched to daylight saving time in 2006. One study found that people’s annual energy bills increased by $7 million after daylight saving time was implemented compared to before it was implemented. Another study found that workers are less productive when daylight saving time begins.
However, there is evidence that, at least in some climates, increasing light at night can reduce crime and increase the time people spend outdoors.
Every spring, on the Monday after daylight saving time goes into effect, hospitals report a 24% increase in cardiovascular patient visits in the United States.
Just a coincidence? Probably not. Every fall, doctors see the opposite trend: Heart attack visits drop 21 percent the day after the clocks turn back, as many people enjoy extra hours of sleep.
In Finland, researchers found that the incidence of ischemic stroke increased by 8% in the two days after the clocks were moved forward.
It’s unclear exactly why this happens, but researchers suspect it may be a combination of factors, including sleep disruption, stress at the start of the work week, and underlying medical conditions.
”If you miss even an hour of sleep, your body becomes very fragile and sensitive,” sleep expert Matthew Walker, author of How We Sleep, previously told Business Insider.
The reason why moving clocks forward or backward is bad for us is because it disrupts our sleep schedule.
The human body has its own internal clock, the “circadian rhythm,” which works in harmony with the rest of the outside world. When we’re exposed to sunlight, our bodies release hormones that help us stay awake, speed up our metabolism, trigger digestion, and trigger hunger so we have the energy to move around during the day. (That’s why, when you’re jet-lagged, experts recommend getting out at dawn or dusk to align your body with your local sleep schedule.)
As night falls, our body produces melatonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy. At this time, our body also produces growth hormone to strengthen memory, and our body temperature drops to conserve energy.
The Association for Sleep Research says that waking up and starting the day in the dark disrupts our bodies’ natural hormone production, and triggering this shift once a year can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, mood disorders, cardiovascular disease, and life-threatening accidents. One study found that daylight saving time may cause a temporary increase in suicide rates. (That’s why sleep experts are calling for an end to night shift work.)
In a statement calling for the end of daylight saving time, the American Medical Association said it can take several months for our bodies to adjust to the new sleep cycle.
We’re also more likely to make deadly mistakes on the road: A study of more than 700,000 crashes from the mid-1990s to 2017 found a 6% increase in crashes the week after daylight saving time went into effect.
Researchers estimate that this is partly due to sleep deprivation and poor visibility for drivers and pedestrians.
Daylight saving time also leads to an increase in workplace injury reports. A 23-year study of miners found that the number and severity of injuries among miners increased significantly each year on the Monday after daylight saving time changed, and other workers lost about 40 minutes of sleep.
At least 20 states have passed or are considering legislation to make daylight saving time permanent, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A similar number are considering legislation to end daylight saving time and make it permanent. There’s some confusing overlap here: Bills in more than a dozen states consider both approaches. Many state bills say they’ll use the time their neighbors are on instead.
California is a special case. In the 2018 midterm elections, voters decided to end the annual clock change and make daylight saving time permanent. Then, in early 2024, anti-daylight saving time lawmakers introduced a bill to make standard time permanent instead, but both options were blocked in committee and never implemented.
Switching to permanent daylight saving time requires approval from Congress, but states switching to permanent standard time does not require federal approval.
The federal government is considering making daylight saving time permanent in 2022. In fact, the Sunshine Protection Act, introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, passed the Senate unanimously but failed in the House.
Health and sleep experts are breathing a sigh of relief. They say the rest of the country should follow Hawaii and Arizona’s lead, and wonder if Rubio and his colleagues are confused about which time system is best.
Dr. Akinbolaji Akinbola, a sleep expert at the University of Minnesota Medical School, previously told Business Insider: “When we saw that, it was kind of an ‘oops’ moment. We all know standard time is the best choice.”
Post time: Nov-25-2024