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With Daylight Savings approaching on Sunday, March 12, many people, including myself, question whether it’s worth the hassle to switch the clocks.
In 2022, a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act was introduced to make daylight savings time permanent. Although the bill did not initially pass, it was reintroduced on March 2, with the hopes of getting approval from the Senate and House as well as the president’s signature.
Last year when the original bill was proposed, it was passed by the Senate but hit a roadblock against the House. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida who introduced the act last year continued to look for support to reintroduce the bill. This time around, the bill was backed by a bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators and co-sponsors from both parties. In a statement on the topic, Rubio said the logic is simple.
“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid,” Rubio said.
Daylight saving time has been around since the early 1960s in the United States. However, since 2015 around 30 states have introduced legislation to end switching the clocks twice a year. After such a long history, some people are hesitant to change, but I think it is time to skip the pain of changing clocks, losing sleep, and adapting sleep schedules all for an earlier sunrise.
By eliminating the clock switch we would have daylight later into the evening during winter months. Instead of the sun setting at 4:43 p.m. in late December, we could have light until almost 6 p.m. Some people who are early risers would have to get used to darker mornings, but the overall benefits of an uninterrupted time system would be worth the fight.
When addressing the benefits of the time change, supporters say that the change could prevent the increase in car accidents and other problems that occur around the time changes. Rubio also mentioned the scientific evidence behind the sleep effects of daylight savings.
“There’s strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock switching has,” Rubio said. “There’s an increase in heart attacks, car accidents, and pedestrian accidents.”
We’ve all heard of or experienced seasonal depression when in the winter months the dark evenings make many people depressed and home-bodies. By keeping a year-round time schedule, and bringing back brighter afternoons, the health effects alone are something to consider. Along with this, many businesses would benefit from increased evening daylight, promoting more economic activity.
In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer. Daylight savings contributes to health problems from the disruption of sleep that affect most people for up to two weeks. As college students, many of us struggle with sleep, to begin with so adding this into the middle of a semester brings on more stress and difficulty completing assignments.
In an article by Dallas Sleep, studies found results of work-related problems in Americans.
“The effects on Americans’ focus and concentration also increases the frequency of mistakes at work, decreased productivity, and increased absenteeism,” said Dallas’ Sleep Health Physician and Sleep Scientist.
While there are arguments on both sides, the only way to make it official is for federal action to put an end to the clock changes.
For now, we can suffer the effects of the time change starting this Sunday.
