Daylight Savings Pros and Cons

By: Josh Riedy '31

This weekend, on Sunday, November 2nd, the United States pushed the time on our clocks back, but you’ve probably heard of that. However, many people do not know the pros and cons about Daylight Savings Time, or how it affects people's lives, besides taking away an hour of sleep in spring. This debate of whether or not Daylight Savings Time should be dead and buried like the penny has been a debate that seems meaningless to many, but could have a crucial impact on your life.

On the cons side of the argument, many opponents say that Daylight Savings Time can disrupt everyone's sleep, and even the smallest change in people’s sleep cycle can have drastic changes in their health and day to day life. Studies show that the risk of a heart attack rises by ten percent in the following days after Daylight Savings Time, and car accidents increase by five percent. One study by Stanford University shows that Daylight Savings Time negatively affects the circadian rhythm of someone, and if the US switched back to standard time, it would prevent an estimated 300,000 strokes per year, and 2.6 million cases of obesity. Another Harvard study shows that Daylight Savings Time can cause temporary sleep deprivation in the following week after changing the clocks. Waking up without light in the morning can delay the production of the hormone serotonin, which is vital for boosting your mood during the mornings. During summer nights, Daylight Savings can also delay the hormone melatonin, which is what makes people feel tired during the night. Overall, opponents say that Daylight Savings Time can negatively affect your health, and can decrease cognitive function, which can cause increased car accidents and less workplace productivity.

However, proponents argue that Daylight Savings Time can decrease crime, since most street crimes happen between five and eight PM, and Daylight Savings Time allows it to be light during that time. Crime goes down by up to seven percent during Daylight Savings Time. New studies also show that it saves people almost $59 million dollars a year from preventing robberies during Daylight Savings Time. Another reason why proponents support it is because of its supposed economic effect. Since the sun rises later during the summer, there is more time for people to shop and do things after work or school, especially outdoor activities and businesses. The barbecue industry says that their profits go up by almost $150 million dollars per month during Daylight Savings Time, because the sun is up later. Many proponents also say that Daylight Savings Time allows people to have a fitter lifestyle, since it allows them to go outside in the daylight after work.

Overall, Daylight Savings Time is a very controversial event with many pros and cons. I’m not sure what my opinion on this is but I hope you can be more well informed. However this debate does have real effects on you, and that is why it has recently grazed the public eye. Many states have started to introduce bills to remove daylight savings time, or keep it all year long. However, only two states have done it, being Hawaii and Arizona. Either way, even if you don't really care, Daylight Savings Time affects us all even in the day after it, when you are slumping around at work and school.

Works Cited

Bai, Nina. “Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time.” Stanford Medicine, 15 September 2025, https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/09/daylight-saving-time.html. Accessed 2 November 2025.

Betts, Jonathan D. “Daylight Saving Time | Pros, Cons, Debate, Arguments, Standard Time, Clock Change, & Time.” Britannica, 7 May 2025, https://www.britannica.com/procon/Daylight-Saving-Time-debate#pcref-2255615-4. Accessed 2 November 2025.

Handwerk, Brian, and Abraham Nowitz. “Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving ("Savings") Time.” National Geographic, 3 November 2016, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/daylight-saving-time-2016-why-change-clocks. Accessed 2 November 2025.

Solan, Matthew, and Howard E. LeWine. “The dark side of daylight saving time.” Harvard Health, 1 March 2023, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dark-side-of-daylight-saving-time. Accessed 2 November 2025.