For students, time management is key. But what happens when time is inconsistent and busy students can’t properly plan out their days, causing stress and many health risks?
As long as Daylight Savings Time (DST) continues to exist in the United States, there is no answer to that question considering hardly any measures have been taken to do away with it.
DST is the custom of adjusting clocks an hour ahead of standard time in March to increase the use of sunlight until November when it ends.
The normalized changing of clocks in the spring and fall is a catalyst of problems for students nationwide. It is a constant frustration for people simply trying to grab onto the continuous progression of time.
The only states that no longer recognize DST are Arizona and Hawaii.
Standard time should be sustained year-round because, with DST, countless individuals are prone to stress, health risks, and unsafe conditions during spring.
The US originally implemented DST in 1918 to use less energy lighting homes and buildings while the sun was still out. At the time, it made sense and the only consequence was losing one hour of sleep.
Unfortunately, that hour of sleep has proven to be very costly. A study conducted by Michigan Medicine found that the number of heart attacks increases by 24% the day following the clock change. There is also a higher risk for fatal car crashes and mental health issues the week after DST.
These detrimental impacts on one’s health are unnecessary because the original reason for starting DST is non-applicable and even debased.
While DST may have helped use fewer candles in the 1900s, it has since become useless in the 2000s. With improved technology, motion-sensing lights have the ability to turn off when not in use, and energy-efficient LEDs can reduce electricity bills, according to the Direct Energy website.
During DST, costs of living spike because homeowners have to spend more money on air conditioning to cool off homes from these climate-change-induced hot summers.
Beyond the financial costs, DST can severely impact sleep as well. No matter who you are, it’s already difficult to fall asleep, with hot weather and warm blankets making it even worse. DST doesn’t help and instead adds to this hardship by confusing circadian rhythms.
A person’s circadian rhythm is a 24-hour body clock that is determined by how much light seen throughout the day. According to Northwestern Medicine, DST exposes a person’s body to less morning light and more evening light, ultimately throwing off the body’s clock and making it harder to fall asleep at night.
Furthermore, DST is not anywhere close to solar time, which is time-based on the sun’s position in the sky. Being in sync with the sun provides health benefits, such as faster metabolism and a stronger immune system. DST’s disconnect from our natural rhythms is why standard time makes so much more sense.
Some measures have been taken to keep time regular year-round, but they were for maintaining DST annually, which isn’t the best solution. One of these was the Sunshine Protection Act which aimed to keep DST permanent with freedom for states to choose standard time. Although it was unanimously passed by the Senate, the Act died in the House of Representatives for no apparent reason.
These attempts at keeping DST permanent all-year introduce a multitude of problems, ranging from dark winter mornings that make it difficult for kids to go to school to low visibility for parents driving to work. That being said, some regulations for maintaining standard time have been suggested.
According to KSBY News, California Senator Roger Niello proposed legislation in May 2024 that would sustain standard time year-round. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass. This should be reconsidered because the benefits of standard time are becoming increasingly clear.
To fully understand why we’re still dealing with DST, it helps to look back at its origins. While it’s popular to think that Benjamin Franklin brought up DST first, George Hudson, a bug scientist from the United Kingdom, was the first to propose a two-hour time shift in 1895 because he wanted to have more sunshine for bug hunting.
The US dabbled in DST a little bit during World War II in order to save fuel, calling it “war time”. Then in 1966, the Uniform Time Act passed, mandating the start and end times of DST, but still allowing states to decide whether to follow it. To this day, no changes have been made to the act, and there has been little support for returning the US to standard time year-round.
Despite the lack of support for upholding standard time annually, the solution remains clear. Standard time is the perfect compromise of sunlight and darkness all year.
It’s time for lawmakers to prioritize people’s health and well-being over an outdated practice. Let’s make standard time the standard once again.