Does anybody like it when their schedule changes twice a year? Daylight savings time (DST) has become the subject of intense debate and scrutiny in recent years, with its benefits and drawbacks being brought into question across the United States. As some states consider making DST a permanent fixture of their clocks, Ohio has joined the conversation with a bill aimed at observing daylight savings time all year, meaning that their time zone would be permanently fixed and not leap forward or jump back based on seasonal changes in daylight hours.
The move is partially backed by a growing pile of evidence that switching time is dangerous, with the American Psychological Association finding there are 3.6 more injuries on the Mondays following the switch to daylight saving time compared to other days, and evidence that people slept an average of 40 minutes less on the Sunday night they switched to daylight saving time. Full time workers and students enrolled in degrees such as an accelerated online MBA might find the switch away from the constant flux of seasonal time changes welcome, especially if it results in more daylight hours after work to engage in recreational activity.
Where did DST come from?
Daylight savings time was implemented in the US in the first world war as an energy conservation method. The idea was to shift an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening, which reduced the need for artificial lighting and therefore would save energy for households. Since then, DST has been adopted and repealed, with the current system in place resulting from the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Under this act, the majority of the US observes DST from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November.
Why Make it Permanent?
The arguments against DST tend to revolve around claims that time changes disrupt sleep patterns, which is true, and that it has minimal impact on energy consumption. The benefits of the practice are clear: DST leads to increased recreational time and gives more opportunity for people to get their daily vitamin D requirements, especially if they are typically indoors for most of the day. More light during later commute hours when workers are more likely to be tired may also result in fewer traffic accidents.
Ohio’s push to observe DST permanently joins a national trend of other states pushing for similar solutions, with Florida, California, and Washington all passing legislation to make DST permanent pending federal approval. The change means that all the benefits of DST remain, and the drawbacks of the time change will no longer be a concern.
Economic Benefits
A key argument pushing the permanent adoption of DST is the potential for people to spend more time and money on outdoor activities, dining out, and shopping, provided that they have the daylight to do so. Commuting home from a 9-5 workday in a gloomy twilight is a surefire way to want to stay inside as soon as the front door closes, but with an extra hour of daylight, sectors like retail and hospitality could see upticks in demand, especially in historically slow periods like winter. This isn’t just conjecture, either — a study by financial heavyweights JP Morgan Chase & Co. found that consumer spending drops by a whopping 3.5% after DST finishes.
Health Benefits
As mentioned previously, the biannual clock changes can disrupt sleep patterns and our circadian rhythm, which can lead to a host of health-related issues including sleep disorders and cardiovascular issues. If there is no seasonal transition, then sleep patterns are not disrupted, which could promote better sleep among Ohio residents. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that there was an increased risk of heart attacks in the week following the transition out of DST, attributing this phenomenon to the adverse effects of sleep deprivation on cardiovascular health. By avoiding this change, Ohioans could experience improved cardiovascular health along with a host of other benefits from consistent and healthy sleeping patterns.
The Opposition: What are the Challenges of Transition?
Critics argue that the change could have negative impacts on farmers, school-aged children, and those with early morning schedules.
Agricultural Impact
Farmers have historically been opposed to DST, as it disrupts their schedules and negatively affects livestock. Cows can’t adjust to being milked an hour earlier (or later) overnight, leading to reduced milk production, so critics from this lobby suggest that permanent DST could exacerbate these issues. While this may be true, it seems that the farmers have an issue with the transitory nature of DST, not the practice itself. A change to a permanent time could see these issues disappear.
Impact on Schools
Some people worry about the impact of DST on students, arguing that the changes affect their sleepiness, attentiveness and reaction times. With permanent DST, students would be going to school in the dark for a large part of the year. There are safety concerns about students waiting for buses in darkness with an increased potential for accidents, with a lack of morning light also having potentially negative effects on students’ academic performance. A permanent shift to DST might call into question concerns about how early school starts, especially considering 7 out of 10 students are sleep deprived.
Changing the clocks twice a year seems to be a bizarre practice when looked at in isolation. Even in practice, its purported benefits could be realized without the massive transitory drawback that seems to be part of almost every aspect of its criticism. The potential benefits of economic activity and improved health are being recognized by more and more states as the growing tide to repeal this outdated practice builds, with Ohio the latest in a line of states looking to take a final leap into the future and keep looking forward. There are arguments in favor of both standard time and daylight savings time, the issue for most seems to be the transition between the two.
