Congress, sleep experts at odds over permanent daylight saving time

Most Americans will set their clocks forward an hour for daylight saving time this weekend as part of a twice-yearly jet lag practice that’s been around since the 1960s.

Some members of Congress would like to end twice-yearly changes by making daylight saving time permanent year-round, but some sleep experts believe the U.S. should abolish daylight saving time and make it permanent. We are working to encourage the adoption of a new standard time.

A bipartisan, bicameral bill called the Sunshine Protection Act, which has been periodically reintroduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), would make daylight saving time permanent and “bring it forward” to March. After two ceremonies, we will return to standard time in November.

The Sunshine Protection Act would allow states that currently use Permanent Standard Time, including Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. territories, to maintain standard time year-round.

One report found that nearly two-thirds of Americans said they were in favor of stopping changing clocks. The Economist/YouGov poll Last March, 1,000 adults participated. Of those who supported abolishing time changes, half said they preferred standard time, while 31% said they preferred daylight saving time year-round.

Federal law currently prohibits states from unilaterally making daylight saving time permanent. But 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions that would greenlight daylight saving time permanently if Congress approves the change, according to Congress. National Conference of State Legislatures.

Mr. Rubio called the twice-yearly clock change “outdated” and has consistently introduced the Sunshine Protection Act in each Congress since 2018. The bill, which passed the Senate but died in the House last Congress, has stalled since the bill was introduced in spring 2018. new parliament.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time point to research showing that the twice-yearly ritual is not only outdated, but could have a negative impact on the health and safety of Americans.

Research has linked changing times to an increase in fatalities, emergency room visits, missed appointments, heart attacks, and strokes.

Traffic fatalities jumped 6 percent in the five business days following the spring time change. According to a 2020 survey Number of fatal car accidents from 1996 to 2017, published by Current Biology. One report found that heart attacks increased by 24% on Mondays after the transition from spring to daylight saving time. 2014 survey A paper published in the journal Open Heart also found that heart attacks decreased by 21 percent after the transition to permanent standard time in the fall.

Research shows that those most at risk during the transition to daylight saving time are people with insomnia, teens and students, night owls, and people who are sleep-deprived. The latter account for her one-third of the US population. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s time to close the clocks. Floridians are tired of changing their clocks because everyone wants more sunshine. It’s time for Congress to act and make this happen. I am proud to join Senator Rubio in leading the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors. Regarding this year’s time change.

According to Congress.gov, the current version of the Senate bill includes Scott, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama). There are said to be 17 co-sponsors, including ). ), Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Michigan), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) has also introduced a companion bill in the House. The House bill currently has 34 co-sponsors, including Democrats Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), Dean Phillips (Minnesota), and Steve Cohen (Tennessee).

“Changing the clocks twice a year is inconvenient and completely unnecessary. It’s time to end this outdated practice and pass my bill. [Rubio] Make daylight saving time permanent,” Buchanan said. I wrote to Xthe platform formerly known as Twitter.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the National Sleep Foundation have both advocated for eliminating the twice-yearly time change, citing the health effects of sudden time changes.

However, rather than supporting permanent daylight saving time, sleep experts support a permanent transition to standard time.

Daylight savings time attempts to add an hour of daylight at the end of the day, but at the expense of an hour of daylight in the morning. Kin M. Yuen, a spokesperson for AASM and a sleep medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told The Hill that morning sunlight is “very important.”

“We know that a lack of sunlight and a lack of cues that say, ‘It’s morning, you should be awake,’ can cause a lot of difficulties with motivation, alertness, and cardiovascular symptoms. There is no doubt about it,” Yuen said.

A.A.S.M. stated positionUpdated in January 2024, standard time of year better aligns with natural circadian rhythms, while delays in sunlight during daylight savings time can cause circadian rhythms to shift about it.

Research shows that some people take longer to adjust to daylight saving time.a 2021 survey According to a paper published in Scientific Reports, the body clocks of “genetically predisposed night owls,” or night owls, “significantly reduced” their sleep hours on work nights after the transition, and It turned out that daylight savings time had not been adjusted for the next week.

The Sleep Research Association, the American Medical Association (AMA) and other professional societies also called for an end to daylight saving time, echoing sleep experts who say the change would improve health and safety.

“Eliminating time changes in March and November would be a welcome change. However, permanent daylight saving time overlooks the potential health risks that could be avoided by establishing a permanent standard time instead. “Studies show that there are many cases of cancer,” said Alexander Ding, a physician on the AMA Board of Directors and vice president of physician strategy and medical affairs at Humana, ahead of this year’s clock change. .

“Sleep experts are concerned. Issues other than patient health are driving this discussion. It’s time for us to wake up to the impact that our clock settings have on our health.”

Yuen also blamed the current push for annual daylight savings time on “national amnesia.” The United States introduced permanent daylight saving time in 1973, but abolished it just one year later due to public backlash.

“During the spring and summer, we tend to be quite short-sighted in terms of ‘getting’ an hour of sunlight during the day,” Yuen says.