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The Clock is Ticking: why Experts Say It’s Time too End Daylight Saving Time
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More than a third of Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, and a growing chorus of scientists believe the twice-yearly disruption of Daylight Saving Time is exacerbating the problem. The practise, which involves shifting clocks forward in the spring and backward in the fall, is increasingly viewed as a public health risk with limited modern benefits.
A Nation Running on Empty
It’s no secret that we live in a sleep-deprived society. Over 35% of Americans don’t get the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep each night, a trend mirrored across much of the developed world. “Sleep deprivation abounds,” notes Eva Winnebeck,a chronobiologist at the University of Surrey in the U.K. “People do struggle to get up. Alarm clock use is high, lack of sleep is high.” In fact, the reliance on alarm clocks is often a telltale sign of insufficient rest – if you need an alarm, you likely aren’t getting enough sleep.
So why do we continue to compound this widespread issue with the biannual disruption of daylight Saving Time? Why do we consistently “mess with our internal clocks” each spring and fall, as of November 2nd for Americans?
Calls for Change Grow Louder
Experts increasingly advocate for abolishing the practice of switching clocks.The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), alongside various European societies for sleep medicine and biological rhythms, has publicly opposed the seasonal time changes. “These seasonal time changes should be abolished,” reads the AASM statement, advocating for a single, year-round standard time to better align with the natural solar cycle.
Despite these vocal concerns from leading scientific organizations, governments have largely resisted making a change to the status quo.
The Biological Cost of Sleep loss
Public-health research consistently demonstrates the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation. Studies link insufficient sleep to a higher incidence of car accidents, increased risk of diabetes, and even a greater likelihood of heart attacks. This isn’t simply about feeling tired; long-term sleep deprivation profoundly impacts the body’s biology. It can elevate blood pressure, encourage risky behavior, and disrupt the crucial synchronization between the body’s internal clock and the sun – a particularly common issue among shift workers.
Biological processes become desynchronized, with functions that should occur at separate times overlapping, and those that should be aligned falling out of sync.This disruption may contribute to the elevated risks of heart disease and cancer observed in individuals who work night shifts.
A Relatively Recent Tradition
The biannual disruption of our sleep schedules is a surprisingly recent policy. In the U.S., the current practice dates back to 1966 with the passage of the Uniform Time Act. prior to that, temporary clock adjustments were implemented during the World Wars to conserve energy by maximizing daylight hours during periods of activity.
The practice was revived in the 1960s, driven by the Interstate Commerce Commission’s need for a standardized time for transportation. But the energy-saving benefits have been largely debunked, and the costs to public health are becoming increasingly clear.
The Future of Time
As the debate over Daylight Saving Time intensifies, several alternatives are being considered.Some states, like Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation), have already opted out of the practice, remaining on Standard Time year-round. Others are exploring legislation to do the same.
The European Union has also been grappling with the issue. In 2019, the European Parliament voted to abolish seasonal time changes, but implementation has been delayed as member states struggle to reach a consensus on whether to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time.
The path Forward: Aligning with the Sun
Ending seasonal time changes is a recurring topic of public policy debate. The European Parliament voted to abolish the practice in 2019, but progress has stalled due to disagreements over whether to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time.
some sleep scientists envision a more radical approach: abandoning both Daylight Saving Time and time zones altogether, and rather aligning daily life with solar time – noon when the sun is overhead, and wake times dictated by the natural sunrise and sunset. “Until we had a train system in Europe, people did use sun time,” Merrow points out. Modern computing tools could
