Why is There a Push to Make Daylight Savings Permanent?

Every March, we push our clocks ahead an hour, and every November, we pull it back. Do you ever wonder why we do this? A National Geographic article on this subject states that “[the] idea behind the clock shift is to maximize sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, as days start to lengthen in the spring and then wane in the fall.” It basically exists to maximize productivity hours based on daylight hours. Last year, the Sunshine Protection Act was proposed and, in a rare event of bipartisanism, passed unanimously in the US Senate and is currently stalled in the House of Representatives. The bill aimed to make one thing happen: it aimed to simply make daylight savings time permanent, meaning we would be permanently one hour ahead. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the delegate who proposed the bill, stated that some benefits of permanent DST are: reduced car accidents, increase in children’s physical fitness, and benefits in the agricultural industry.

But is this change really going to improve our quality of life? I mean, who wants to get to school before the sun even rises? I know that I felt especially tired on school days before we returned to standard time, days when I’d wait for my bus in what felt like the dead of night. Simply put, DST during the autumn and winter months can mess with an individual’s sleep cycle. In an article by CNN, Dr. Phyllis Zee, the director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University, stated that “[between] March and November your body gets less morning light and more evening light, which can throw off your circadian rhythm.” Returning to standard time in November allows for our bodies to get more natural light in the morning to refresh us for the rest of the day. Plus, I think the house has more pressing issues like inflation to worry about.