My Filibuster for Permanent Daylight Saving Time

What Started the Stupid Cycle 

Standard time in time zones started in the United States and Canada in the 1800s to help railroad companies and reduce the likelihood of trains crashing due to time differences. Before this, there were over 144 local time zones in North America. 

 Some have said Benjamin Franklin started the practice of daylight saving time in 1784 when he wrote a satirical essay for the Journal de Paris proposing regulations to ensure early risers.

However, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia disputes this claim and believes George Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist is the reason for the season. In 1895, Hudson proposed a two-hour rollback on clocks because he wanted more daylight to collect insects.

Others say British builder William Willet is to blame. He was a big promoter and advocate for “British Summer Time” and in 1907, he wrote a pamphlet called "The Waste of Daylight," which encouraged advancing clocks in the spring so people could get out of bed earlier. Longer and lighter days were supposed to save energy, reduce traffic accidents, and help people become more active. 

The changing of the clocks officially began in 1916 when Germany became the first country to observe daylight saving time to conserve fuel. The U.S. Embassy in Berlin sent a dispatch on April 8th to Washington, D.C., to inform them about the clock change initiative. The text said an "order directing a change in the clocks to "add" an hour of daylight to the day during the months of May through September" had been made. 

This dispatch noted that Germany believed that clocks changing would save $23.8 million by limiting the use of artificial light. This is about $685 million by today's standards. Other European countries followed Germany’s lead, and it became official in the U.S. in 1918 with the passage of the Standard Time Act of 1918. 

At that time, the Interstate Commerce Commission, which regulated railroads, was put in charge of time zones. Like Germany and other European countries, the agency implemented daylight saving time to help conserve fuel and power during World War I. The idea was that shifting time to get more daylight hours would reduce the need for lighting. 

In 1919, Congress repealed daylight saving time over the veto of former President Woodrow Wilson. It then became a local matter. However, it was re-established nationally early in World War II and was continuously observed from February 1942 to September 1945. When the Department of Transportation was created, it established the current version of daylight saving time with the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

The Uniform Time Act solidified that Daylight Saving Time begins on the last Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the "energy crisis" years in the U.S., Congress enacted earlier starting dates for Daylight Saving Time. In 1974, it began on January 6th, and in 1975 it began on February 23rd. After those two years, the starting date reverted to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of Daylight Saving Time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. 

The ending date of Daylight Saving Time remained the last Sunday in October until the Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. As of 2007, Daylight Saving Time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

Not all places in the United States observe Daylight Saving Time. Hawaii and most of Arizona observe standard time only. The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands observe permanent standard time.

Countries in the Northern Hemisphere including North America, Central America, Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa use Daylight Savings Time in the summertime, but not all. Daylight Saving Time usually starts in March-April and ends in September-November when the countries return to standard time or winter time. 

In the Southern Hemisphere, the countries that use Daylight Saving Time like Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa and most of South America usually start daylight saving time by November and end by April.

What Does It Do to Us? 

The main goal of daylight saving time is to have longer sunnier days. The amount of daylight an area gets differs based on its location. Northern cities tend to have more dark days or days with less than 10 hours of daylight in a year. A city’s location within a time zone matters, too. The further west a city is in a time zone, the later its sunrises and sunsets will be.

Experts have been trying to figure out if changing the clocks does anything to anyone for decades. In 1974, the Department of Transportation conducted a study and found no conclusive difference in energy usage, crime, travel times, or work during the time shift. 

In 2008, a study from the Energy Department showed energy consumption dropped 0.02% due to daylight saving time. The study also showed no “measurable impact” on vehicle gas consumption. 

All mammals function with a circadian rhythm, the 24-hour internal clock in our brain that regulates cycles of alertness and sleepiness, responding to light changes in our environment. Circadian clocks regulate metabolism in many systems and organs, including the heart, skeletal muscle, liver, and fatty tissue. The hour transition in the spring initially causes darker mornings and lighter evenings. This may seem insignificant. However, sleep disruptions can lead to physical and mental health issues.

The American Heart Association has reported that people experience an increase in heart attacks and strokes every year in the days following the time change. According to a study of hospital admissions across Michigan, there was a 24% increase in heart attacks on the Monday following the switch to daylight saving time. 

An explanation for this is that the change impacts sleep quality, which is directly related to heart health. For example, a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that variations in sleep duration of more than two hours a night within the same week were tied to developing atherosclerosis which is the buildup of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the artery walls. This can lead to life-threatening health issues like blood clots. 

A 2020 study published in Current Biology examined 700,000 motor vehicle accidents over 20 years and found that the annual switch to daylight-saving time is associated with a 6% increase in fatal car crashes during the work week following the time change. 

The study also showed changes in accident patterns after the "fall back" time change, with a decline in morning accidents and a spike in the evening when darkness comes sooner. 

Due to the direct effect on sleep, daylight-saving time can worsen disorders such as anxiety, depression, and seasonal affective disorder. The shorter and darker days at the end of daylight saving time can significantly affect someone’s mood. 

Seasonal affective disorder often shows up as feelings of sadness, low energy, irritability, trouble concentrating, and changes in sleep and eating habits. These symptoms can vary in intensity.  

Is Anybody Going to Do Something About It?!

On Mar. 15, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act that would have made daylight saving time permanent as of Nov. 20, 2023, if approved by the House and signed by President Biden. The delay was meant to give airlines and other transportation providers time to adjust to the change as they set schedules months ahead of time. However, no action was taken in the U.S. House of Representatives to advance the bill, rendering it dead.

State legislatures have considered over 700 bills and resolutions in recent years to establish either standard time or year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law allows it. 

Since 2015, virtually every state has considered multiple time zone bills, but none of significance passed until 2018 when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe daylight saving time if federal law changes. 

There are 20 states that have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to establish a year-round daylight saving time if approved by Congress. These states are Oklahoma; Colorado; Kentucky; Alabama; Georgia; Minnesota; Mississippi; Montana; Idaho; Louisiana; Ohio; South Carolina; Utah; Wyoming; Delaware; Maine; Oregon; Tennessee; Washington; and Florida. 

Because federal law does not currently allow full-time daylight saving time, Congress has to make that change before these states can. 

Pros and Cons

Now that I have given a bit of information on what it does to people and what could possibly be done about it, I want to share a pros and cons list for whether or not we should keep daylight saving time. 

Here are the pros: 

• It promotes safety. Longer daylight hours make driving safer, lower car accident rates, and lower the risk of pedestrians being hit by a car. Economists Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders found that robberies dropped about 7% overall, and 27% in the evening hours after the springtime change. Also, daylight in the evening makes it safer for joggers, people walking dogs after work, and children playing outside because drivers can see people more easily and criminal activity is lowered.

• It is good for the economy. Later daylight means more people shopping after work, increasing retail sales, and more people driving, increasing gas and snacks sales. The golf industry reports that one month of daylight saving time was worth $200 to $400 million because of the extended evening hours golfers can play. The barbecue industry estimates their profits increase by $150 million for one month during daylight saving time. 

• It promotes active lifestyles. When the day is lighter later, people tend to participate in more outdoor activities after work. Hendrik Wolff, Associate Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University, states, that because of daylight saving time “people engaged in more outdoor recreation and less indoor-TV watching…An additional 3 percent of people engaged in outdoor behaviors who otherwise would have stayed indoors.” 

And here are the cons:

• Daylight saving time is bad for your health. Changing sleep patterns, even by one hour, goes against a person’s natural circadian rhythm and has negative consequences for health. In the weeks following the spring change, male suicide rates rose in Australia compared to the weeks following the return to standard time in the fall. Daylight saving time increases the risk that a car accident will be fatal by over 5%. 

• Daylight saving time drops productivity. The Monday after the springtime change is called “Sleepy Monday,” because it is one of the most sleep-deprived days of the year.

• It’s expensive. According to the Lost-Hour Economic Index, moving the clocks forward has a total cost to the US economy of $434 million nationally, factoring in health issues, decreased productivity, and workplace injuries. The Air Transport Association estimated that Daylight Saving Time cost the airline industry $147 million in 2007 thanks to confused time schedules with countries that do not participate in the time change. 

How To Prepare for the Change and Survive the Cycle 

Make the most of the daylight you get. Find a window and lay in the sun if it’s too cold or you’re too busy to go outside. Be a cat. Be Ilana from Broad City and buy a sun lamp for when the darkness lasts throughout the day. 

Next, try to maintain a regular daily routine as much as possible. Consistent meal times, exercise, and sleep patterns will help keep your internal clock in check and improve your mood. 

Then you have to get physical. Whether it's going for a walk or doing the newest trendiest exercise, just get your body moving. Maybe even dance around for a few minutes every morning. 

But it’s not all about getting stuff done, you need to make sure you stay connected. People need people. Being connected to others will make it easier to ask for help if you need it. You may find that many of your friends or family members feel the same way you’re feeling. 

My final point is to keep a journal. Write all your thoughts and feelings down so you can keep track of them. Giving words to how you feel makes those feelings less extreme.