LAUREN FELDMAN

lfeldman@antonmediagroup.com

In 2022, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a proposal which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the United States. As of this month, it still awaits House approval and a presidential signature. The Act would come into effect in November of this year, whereby we “fall back” one final time, and “spring forward” into a permanent time shift in March of 2024. Despite full support from the Senate, the debate over the clock-change has remained contentious for years, and it seems even those who are in favor of its elimination cannot agree on which time zone to adopt.

To clock-change, or not to clock-change?

For some of us, the “spring forward, fall back” method is all we’ve ever known. There is a common misconception that farm laborers inspired the clock shift, which has been proven false – in fact, farmers have generally been against Daylight Saving time, not proponents of it. Still, clock changing has a much older history than many might realize, proposed as early as the 1700s by Benjamin Franklin, who noticed that waking up earlier some months – and correspondingly going to bed earlier – allowed him to avoid lighting his house with candles. He noted that following the sun was cheaper than lighting one’s home.

This concept gained momentum in the 1900s, when William Willett wrote and published a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight, which campaigned for what we call today Daylight Saving Time (or DST) in the United Kingdom. Willett, like Franklin, felt there were benefits to rising earlier in the summer, and wanted to encourage others to move the clock and make the best use of daylight. During WWI, the Germans adopted the clock-change as a means to use electric energy more sparingly. Eventually, the British also followed suit, as did almost every country on either side of the war. And so was established the system which has persisted to today.

According to David Prerau, the author of the highly acclaimed book Seize the Daylight – as well as dubbed – “the world’s foremost authority on Daylight Saving Time” – the clock-change may be annoying, but it is definitely necessary. Prerau is a big proponent of keeping the clock-change, and his conviction does not stem from a solely hypothetical perspective. He recalls how, in an attempt to save electricity during the energy crisis of 1974, the US attempted to (temporarily) extend DST year-round for two years. For as ideal as it seemed initially, the results were vastly unpopular. Many complained that waking up in the dark was a difficult and stressful procedure, especially in the winter, when mornings were also a lot colder. The unpopularity of the experiment forced its early cancelation, and a return to changing clocks.

In an interview with NPR’s Jenn White and Dr. Beth Malow in March of 2022, Prerau said, “Switching clocks can be a pain, but the fact is that the change makes a difference for four months of the year.” Plus, he argues, we still have the benefits of daylight saving time for most of the year. “The current system is an excellent compromise; it allows us the benefits of daylight saving for most of the year but avoids the problems of waking up and traveling in the dark to work or school during the coldest, darkest months of the year.”

Which time is the “right” time?

Those who favor the end of the clockchange must also decide which time setting to make permanent: Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time. The 2022 Senate Act opted for DST to become the new normal, but what exactly would this entail? Being on DST means that we get less light in the winter and more light in the summer; it stays light in the summer later than it normally would. While the idea of darkness by early evening sounds depressing, is Daylight Saving Time actually the better time zone to adopt?

According to Dr. Beth Malow, from the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University, light is important especially in the morning. “If it’s dark when we wake up, it interferes with our ability to feel rested.” Malow also points out that late evening light can increase sleeplessness – which can affect our mood and health. This is why she – alongside many in the medical community – support the adoption of an official time… just not DST. Instead, Malow and others argue in favor of Standard Time.

Dr. Malow fears for vulnerable groups who cannot adjust their schedule based on daylight. “People need light during the morning to travel to work or school.”

It also activates a positive burst in mood and energy when we wake up with the sun. Readers might be familiar with the concept of a body-clock, or circadian cycle, which is the natural internal process which regulates our sleep-wake cycle. This system was historically tied to the rise and set of the sun, before clocks and timekeeping began to determine our hours.

For some, Standard Time is a return – as close as modernly possible – to honoring the sun’s effect on our ability to wake and sleep. Some states have already put into effect year-round Standard Time, such as Hawai’i and most of Arizona.

So did the Senate get the right idea, but the wrong answer? According to Dr. Karin Johnson of the Baystate Regional Sleep Medicine Program, the majority of people in the US do support the end of the clockchange. However, DST is not the right choice. Many studies suggest that consistent poorer sleep quality – which results from the misalignment of our sleep pattern on DST – contributes to not only worse mood, but worse health, with increases in obesity and even cancer seen in various communities. With the medical community in agreement, why the insistence on Daylight Saving Time from the Senate?

One theory is the role capitalism may play in adopting permanent DST. When it stays lighter later, people are more likely to stay active after work or school. This activity also encourages spending more money. Shops around the US, when polled, revealed that there is a spike in customers during Daylight Saving Time for a variety of products. This correlation does require more insight, including the fact that over the Summer – peak DST time – many young people are out of school and looking for things to do (and buy). However, is the link between DST and higher levels of consumerism prominent enough to seal the deal?

For now, it seems the Senate is deadlocked on their time-change initiative. The Act was reintroduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in March of this year, but it seems that Congress has more pressing issues to worry about at the moment. For now, the clock-change stays, but soon enough we may have to ask ourselves whether time is truly of the essence.