It’s Time To Kill Daylight Savings Time

The Sunshine Protection Act would Lock The Clock and save us from ‘Spring forward, Fall back.” It’s time we abandoned twice a year time changes.

Image made with Grok AI

Originally published in The Alabama Gazette

“Spring forward, Fall back.” It’s the mantra of Daylight Savings Time (DST)—an idea that was presented in the most wonderful, glowing terms but in practice turned out to be inefficient, counterproductive, annoying and deadly. Once enacted, it quickly proved to give few to none of the promised benefits but a plethora of drawbacks and problems. Nonetheless, it has resisted all attempts to do away with it for decades.

In other words, it’s the quintessential government program.

Alabama’s senior Senator, Tommy Tuberville, has been trying to stop the madness of the twice-yearly time change for years. In 2022, his Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Sadly, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to bring it to the floor of the House for a vote.

Now, there may be a chance to get rid of “Spring forward, Fall back.” Last Tuesday, Senator Rick Scott of Florida reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act to ‘Lock the Clock’ and make DST the permanent time. He and Senator Tuberville were joined by Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ed Markey (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in introducing the bill.

President-Elect Trump has come out in support of eliminating the time change. The golfing industry and golfers have historically preferred making DST the standard because they want lighter evenings. In contrast, sleep medicine specialists support making Standard Time (ST) the year-round time, for lighter mornings.

The evidence for the harm done by the ST-DST change is overwhelming. In 2020, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) published a position statement calling for the elimination of the seasonal DST change. On January 1 of this year they reaffirmed this position. In their latest statement, they said:

“It is the position of the AASM that the United States should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of permanent ST, which aligns best with human circadian biology. Evidence supports the distinct benefits of ST for health and safety, while also underscoring the potential harms that result from seasonal time changes to and from DST.”

The National Sleep Foundation, the Sleep Research Society, the American Medical Association and other professional medical societies and organizations (19 in all) have issued similar position statements.

Humans run in three clocks: biologic (circadian), solar and social. Normally, the circadian clock responds to gradual changes to the solar clock as the days lengthen and shorten with the seasons. Setting the time forward an hour every spring causes significant disruption in the circadian clock, most notably a sleep deficit that can take weeks to resolve.

As a result of this disruption and sleep deficit, the body’s normal rhythms are disturbed. Heart rate and blood pressure go up. The immune system is altered, and inflammatory markers increase. Gene expression, epigenetic and transcriptional changes occur. The rates of cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), strokes and atrial fibrillation-related hospital admissions go up. Health care utilization costs go up because of increased ER visits and return visits, missed appointments, medical injuries and medical errors. An increase in pregnancy loss after in vitro fertilization has been seen. Mental health consequences include higher rates of death from suicide and overdose. “Time change syndrome,” while not having an official diagnosis code, is something that everyone understands the moment they hear it, because we’ve all had it.

The fall change is equally disruptive, with not only sleep disturbances but mood disturbances, suicide and traffic accidents all increasing. The ST to DST shift is also associated with unipolar depressive episodes and increases in leave time being taken for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Changes in a number of immunological and endocrinological functions have also been documented.

One report of the introduction of a temporary year-round DST (done as a result of an OPEC oil embargo) showed increased facilities in school-age children between January and April, probably related to the kids having to go to school in the dark for weeks on end. In contrast, another report suggested that the temporary year-round DST may have been associated with a decrease in the crime rate.

Under DST, the persistent maladjustment between our circadian and social clocks can result in a “social jet lag” that increases the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, mood disorders and poorer academic performance. This is likely to have a greater impact on adolescents and young adults due to their biological drives towards later bedtimes and need for longer sleep times than older adults.

Yes, the teenager who wants to stay up until the wee hours and sleep until noon is biologically driven to do so. Is it any wonder they’re grumpy in the morning when you wake them before the crack of dawn to go to their government obedience and indoctrination centers? (I believe that’s what you nermals call “public schools.”)

Finally, DST was touted as an “energy saver,” but during the 1973 oil embargo Congress established “permanent” DST with the idea that it would do just that. Guess what? The savings were minimal, if anything. It was also widely unpopular, mainly because people found themselves getting up in the dark for weeks on end due to the gross mismatch between solar and social calendars.

All in all, I’m happy that these Senators, led by Senator Tuberville’s long-standing efforts, are taking steps to get rid of the twice a year time change. Not being a golfer, I’d prefer to use Standard Time year round, because it’s less bothersome in the mornings for a quarter of the year. The general medical consensus is that permanent Standard Time is a better match to our natural, onboard clocks than DST, so that’s what I’d prefer. However, given a choice between what we have now and either ST or DST, I’d take picking one time and staying with it. Either would be much better than this forward-back-and-forth nonsense—and the American people agree. A 2021 study found that 43% would prefer year-round ST, 32% prefer permanent DST, and only 25% are happy with the current situation.

The EU Parliament ended mandatory DST in 2021. Mexico abandoned DST completely in 2022. Greenland…who cares? They’re about to become a state, anyway. (I realize a protectorate or territory is more likely, but talking about them as our 52nd State is just too much fun to pass up.)

Thank you, Senators Scott, Tuberville and all the rest, for this bill to free us from the onerous burden of “Spring forward, Fall back” forever.

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