The Case for Daylight Savings

Okay, before you keep scrolling, just hear me out. Daylight Savings Time (DST) has more benefits than we may realize, and we don’t want to repeat our mistakes… again. 

DST was first established in Europe and the US during WW1 and WW2 to conserve energy. It was made permanent in 1966 with the Uniform Time Act, and it has been a measure of hot debate ever since. 

What’s DST? Here are the basics: Every March, most of the United States “springs forward” from standard time to daylight saving time—gaining an extra hour of sunlight at night. Then, six months later, the Country “falls back” to standard time again—losing that hour at sunset and instead adding it to sunrise.

Daylight Savings: The Dark Side  

DST is not popular. Everyone from toddler moms to Gen Zers do not like the tradition (and I will give it to toddler moms—that time transition is not fun no matter the time of year). Aside from the internet coming together every six months to hate, some studies claim that the one-hour change twice a year disrupts the body’s natural rhythms with the sun. Modern humans don't actually stick to the rhythm of the sun, but we will get to that in a bit.  

Research shows that women, in particular, show a slight increase in heart attacks and strokes after the springtime transition. Other studies found a decrease in sleep in the week after the spring transition, but the studies on mood disturbances following DST are mixed at best. The Spring transition seems to be the toughest to deal with, medically. However, in my social circles, at least, most people complain about their mood when the sun sets earlier in the day after the fall transition. 

The Golden Side of Daylight Savings 

DST allows for balance that will not otherwise be achieved when sticking to just one time zone—it just sucks the first few days. Sleep expert Adam Spira, PhD, MA, states, “We function best when our sleep-wake cycle follows the sun. We get sleepy, due in part to melatonin release, when it gets dark.” When we stick to just daylight saving time or just standard central time, we are still not following the natural rhythm of the sun. Those studies that claim we are disrupting the body’s natural rhythm with the sun when the time changes don't acknowledge how widely sunset/sunrise times vary in the winter versus summer. 

During the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the sun stays in the sky for anywhere from 14-16 hours. During the winter solstice, sunlight lasts seven to eight hours at best. Modern people have a schedule to stick to, and the alarm still rings at the same time every day, whether the sun is up or not. 6am looks a lot different in the summer than it does in the winter, regardless of DST. In fact, DST is an attempt, whether it was intended or not, to keep people somewhat more aligned with the sun. It’s easier to see visually: 

Modern people don’t actually follow the sun’s natural rhythm year-round. As much as the first week after DST sucks, it’s the compromise we didn’t know we needed to get re-aligned for the summer months. David Prerau, one of the nation's foremost experts on the issue, explains, “For the saving of that one hour of sleep in March, [you’d be] getting four months of dark mornings and cold mornings in November through March. So that’s why I think the current system is better.”

We Tried, and Failed, to Make it Permanent Once Before

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, the government was looking for ways to conserve fuel. They thought that more sunlight in the evening would encourage people to use less energy, so they moved to make DST permanent. The idea was popular and passed into law in January 1974. By the end of the month, however, Florida’s governor had already called for repeal after eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark. Schools across the country delayed start times to avoid accidents. Plus, everyone hated going to work and school in the dark during the coldest months of the year. The law was quickly repealed in just 8 months' time.  

Lose it, Keep it, or Compromise?

There is a big difference between making it permanent (an extra hour of sunlight in the evening) and losing it altogether (an extra hour of sunlight in the morning). Which would you rather have—the extra hour of sunlight or the extra hour of sleep? Many will argue that an extra hour of daylight in the evening will boost mental health, reduce robberies, and encourage economic growth, but there’s no real proof to back up those claims. Dr. Beth Malow, a neurologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains that it would be healthier for Americans to stick to Permanent standard time. She states, "Permanent standard time with sunnier mornings and darker evenings would be healthier, especially for front-line workers and school students with early waking hours.” However, remember that most accidents occur during the hours right after dusk, so pushing for darker evenings could increase car accident numbers. Plus, everyone I know wants that extra hour of sunlight at night (permanent DST), but history shows that didn’t work either.

Hawaii, most of Arizona, and some territories in the Pacific and Caribbean do not observe DST—and they seem to be doing alright. Let’s talk about it. Hawaii being less impacted by daylight savings is simple: they are closer to the equator, so daylight hours in the summer and winter are much more consistent. Arizona, being one of the hottest states in the US and on the southern border, decided that keeping sunset an hour later during the hottest months of the year was a bad idea. They chose to abolish DST in 1967 and stay at Standard Time so their folks could enjoy evening hours without the sun in the summer. 

Whether we’re keeping it permanent or abolishing it altogether, either way may not work well in the long run for most of the Country, especially the further north you get. So, the pros and cons of both are there, although murky. What is the best answer? Something we struggle with these days as a country: Compromise. 

According to David Prerau, “The best answer is to do nothing at all. The current system that began in 2007, starting daylight saving time in March and ending it in November, is the product of decades of study and compromise.” Whether we like it or not, the time change every year isn’t for the benefit of farmers; it’s for the benefit of all of us. And sometimes, you have to go through a little discomfort for the greater good. To see what daylight savings versus standard time in your area, check out this interactive graph from CNN.