With Spring comes sunnier days, blooming flowers, and along with that, daylight savings. Daylight savings is a practice where clocks are set forward an hour every March, leading to brighter and longer afternoons. On March 15, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, making daylight savings time permanent. Supporters of the act advocated for longer daylight, increased economic activity, and reduced seasonal depression.
While there are many benefits related to productivity, sleep science indicates that implementing permanent daylight savings time could cause more harm than good. Researchers have expressed concern over the biannual changing of clocks because shifting just one hour can still negatively affect health. Sleep specialists say that daylight savings time disrupts the body’s internal circadian rhythm, which is connected to the sun. When clocks are set forth, people have to follow the set time rather than what their bodies are naturally accustomed to. Researchers have found links between a more sustained negative health impact linked to a chronic circadian misalignment during permanent daylight savings time, including increased risks of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.
Researchers are especially concerned about the effects of permanent daylight savings on schoolchildren and teenagers. As children age, their biological clock pushes forward, preventing adolescents from falling asleep as early as they used to and pushing them to stay up later. For many teenagers, having the time set an hour earlier can exacerbate their already biologically delayed internal clock. This can lead to not feeling tired at night and having trouble waking up earlier in the morning. In areas where the sun rises later, children lack the sunlight in the morning to train their circadian rhythms to be alert in the morning and tired at night.
With the sun setting later, there have been negative correlations with light at night and health. Studies have shown that healthy people who slept with moderate lighting overnight showed an increased heart rate overnight and increased insulin resistance the next day compared with people who slept in a room with no light. Exposure to light makes it difficult to achieve a level of deeper sleep. Studies have shown that light exposure plays a role in human metabolic processes, causing decreased glucose tolerance and decreased insulin sensitivity. These negative impacts to metabolic regulation can cause a greater chance of contracting type 2 diabetes.
Lack of sleep can also lead to detrimental health effects on the heart. According to the American Heart Association, daylight savings time is associated with a 24% increase in daily heart attack incidents. The rate of ischemic stroke is also higher after the initial days of day light savings time. For those already at risk for heart disease, time changes puts their condition at even greater vulnerability. In the first few days after time change, hospital admissions for aterial fibrillation, heart attacks, and strokes increase. A study by sleep medicine found that found that people with cancer were at 25% greater susceptibility to have a stroke the two weeks after a time change than any other time of the year.
Interruptions to circadian rhythm can also threaten decision-making skills and judgment. In 2020, fatal traffic accidents increased by 6% in the United States during daylight savings time. The time switch leads to sleep deprivation, resulting in jet-lag like symptoms that make people drowsy and unsafe drivers. Drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence. They both lead to delayed reaction times and makes it harder to properly assess road conditions and potential hazards. Having disrupted sleep can have negative effects on daytime alertness which could lead to fatal accidents.
Many medical professionals have urged to abolish daylight savings time and permanently use standard time for optimal sleep and alertness during the day. Standard time is more aligned with the natural human circadian rhythm. Changing this natural rhythm has led to adverse effects on cardiac function, risk of contracting diseases, and judgement when making important decisions. Sleep professionals argue that it is healthier to have light earlier in the day than late at night because of its positive effects on mental health and mood.
While it may be helpful to enjoy the sunny summer evenings, the adverse health effects prove that standard time is more efficient and healthier for human function compared to daylight savings time. Having daylight savings time permanently can lead to health problems including cardiac function, judgement skills, and metabolic regulation.
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