WHY WE’RE READY FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME TO END
Or, why we’re at least ready to stop changing the clocks
A couple of weeks ago, we had to “spring forward” in time. The whole practice was first implemented in Thunder Bay, Canada in 1908, but it was actually invented by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson in 1895 (16 years after the invention of the light bulb) who wanted “a two-hour time shift so he’d have more after-work hours of sunshine to go bug hunting in the summer.” Since then, countries followed suit to save electricity and fuel during World War I.
However, experts are debating on whether there is actually more harm than good happening because of Daylight Savings Time.
In “Why daylight saving time may be bad for your brain and health”, Dr. Joseph Takahashi, Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern, explains that the “desynchronization of our body clocks has been linked to increased health risks such as depression, obesity, heart attack, cancer, and even car accidents.”
“Every cell in our bodies keeps track of the time, and changes in daily patterns can trigger stress in our brains and cause sleep deprivation, disorientation, and memory loss,” Dr. Takahashi continues.
In fairness, this isn’t directed primarily to Daylight Savings Time — despite how much of a bad reputation it gets. Time changes in either way can disrupt our circadian rhythms. In the state of Minnesota, there are currently two proposed bills of legislation — one against daylight savings time and one against standard time.
In fact, Minnesota isn’t the only state proposing the potential end to stop our biannual clock-switching. Currently, there are 27 states — over half of the country — that have legislation in the works to end it.
Listen — I get it. While there are a lot of things that feel archaic today, daylight savings time feels the most outdated to me. Everything has headlights, the world is working 24/7 anyway, and it’s not benefitting farmers — despite the myth saying that they like it. A time shift either backward or forward serves no purpose to us other than to mess up our collective circadian rhythms twice a year.
Here’s the thing — between daylight savings and standard time, I propose getting rid of the former. Federal law currently allows states to abolish DST (see Arizona and Hawaii), but to end standard time involves a lot more hoops to jump through. In addition, if we were to have daylight savings time year-round, there would actually be an extra hour of darkness in the evenings during the winter months. This would push up energy consumption and worsen mental illnesses like seasonal depression disorder. Furthermore, between DST and standard, sleep studies are finding that “the human body never fully acclimates to DST”.
I understand the love for more sunlight in the evenings. It’s great having an extra hour doing errands and social activities in daylight. One of the best things about summertime for me is hanging out on a porch having drinks with friends while it’s 7 PM and still bright.
That said — I’m over it. Let’s get rid of it now before we get another surge of heart attacks and car accidents in the next time change.
