How Daylight Saving Time Is Causing A Ruckus In America

On Sunday, March 8, at 2 a.m., many in America will lose one hour of sleep. During the spring season, the clocks move forward, making mornings dark. This tradition dates back over a hundred years, stemming from the need to increase evening sunlight and conserve energy. The process was officially adopted in World War I.

The debate over whether to stop changing clocks twice in America is becoming more urgent as the practice is increasingly unpopular.

The time change can have negative health impacts. According to Johns Hopkins University, changing the clocks can result in higher risks of heart attack and stroke. It also reported that mood disturbances, hospital admissions and higher production of inflammatory markers in response to stress can also stem from the change.

Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, discovered that the risk of deadly accidents increases by 6 per cent following the switch, according to a 2020 study.

Still, the act of changing clocks twice a year remains. Since 2018, 19 states in America have passed laws asking for permanent daylight saving time; however, those laws can’t take effect without an act of Congress, according to media reports.

A federal statute presently prevents states from implementing full-time daylight saving time; however, they may opt out entirely, as some states have done.

The tradition of over a hundred years ago is still practised in some parts of the country, apart from Hawaii, most of Arizona, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

The Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, and it would have made daylight saving time permanent, but the House never voted on it.