![]() has switched to permanent daylight saving time in the past, both during the energy crisis of the 1970s and in World War II - but both instances ended with a return to standard time. ![]() Author Michael Downing’s book “Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time” explains that the golf industry lobbied for daylight saving time to increase profits.Īrizona made standard time permanent in part because daylight saving time ended up causing increased energy use from air conditioners, Czeisler says. But farmers advocated against it because the yearly change would mess with the natural circadian rhythms of their cattle.Īnd it’s not true that daylight saving time saves energy, Czeisler says. Many people believe the misconception that daylight savings time was something that farmers asked for. Reasons for keeping the time change often involve some long-standing myths. “And it still elicits a strong effect on the body.” “We may think that we're not affected by the solar environment in which we live, but the brightness of the sun outdoors is much more powerful than any of the indoor lights that we have,” he says. Discussion around daylight saving time has focused on the extra light in the evening but Czeisler and others argue this overlooks the downsides. Moving to permanent daylight saving time would require everyone to wake up an hour earlier relative to the time the sun rises. On top of promoting sleep, the hormone slows down the growth of cancer, Czeisler says. The body’s circadian clock controls the timing of various physiological functions, such as the release of melatonin. Breast cancer increased by 5% for every five degrees west, which could result in a 15% increase in risk under permanent daylight saving time. Research shows liver cancer risk increased by 11% for every five degrees westward in a time zone a person lived - so the risk could increase by 30% if everyone moved one time zone east, he says. “A time zone is 15 degrees wide, and every five degrees that an individual lives westward within a time zone increases risk of certain types of cancers in a startlingly high manner.” “There's extensive research that being on the western edge of a time zone increases the risk of multiple different cancers,” Czeisler says. ![]() People in California would move to Mountain Time, for example, and folks on the East Coast would shift to Atlantic Time. Permanent daylight saving time would move everyone in the U.S. But Czeisler says there’s a problem with the Senate’s legislation: It settles on the wrong time. Shifting to one time could cut down on these effects and increase productivity. Shifting back and forth between times has been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and motor vehicle crashes - especially in the spring, says Charles Czeisler, chief of the Division of Sleep And Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The act still has to go to the House and the president. In March, the Senate took a side, approving the Sunshine Protection Act, which aims to make daylight saving time permanent, beginning in 2023. The switch from standard time to daylight saving time sparks an annual debate over whether the U.S. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)Įditor's note: This segment was rebroadcasted on Nov. Facebook Email People run along the National Mall at sunrise in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2022.
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