STOP Changing the Clocks, Save Lives

A Timely Intervention:

Permanent Summer Hours Boost Quality of Life

Forty-eight percent of Americans find Daylight Saving Time a nuisance and want it eliminated, according to a poll from Rasmussen Reports. Daylight Saving Time, the semiannual changing of the clocks, was originally instituted to save energy. By manipulating time, one hour backward in the fall and forward again in the spring, people were expected to sleep during the darkest part of the night, thus reducing the need for light and electricity. However, the opposite is true. Habits formed during summer hours remain throughout the year, but in winter, people turn on more lights. 

However, the DST question involves much more than electricity. Arbitrary changes in time cause negative effects in health, safety, productivity, and overall energy consumption. However, many proponents of Daylight Savings Time (DST) argue that summer hours boost the economy and reduce crime. Based on the research, Americans can have the best of both worlds, by stopping the changes, and keeping summer hours throughout the year.  Here follows evidence that time changes are doing more harm than good, and DST, itself, is actually benefiting the American people.

Daylight Saving Time Wastes Energy

Although the program was originally instituted to save energy, research shows that Americans are likely to use more energy than they otherwise would. According to a study by students of the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, Indiana’s residential electricity use has increased by up to 4% per household since its adoption of Daylight Saving Time in 2006. Prior to this change, Indiana had some counties that did not use DST. This allowed researchers a clear reference point for comparison. People tend to continue the same schedule throughout the year, turning on more lights during the dark winter evenings. A continuation of summer hours would provide more daylight in winter, thus reducing the need for electricity.

The Jump to Daylight Saving Time Decreases Productivity and Safety in the Workplace

 Electricity, and the fossil fuels used to create it, is not the only form of energy at stake. DST wastes human energy too. Taking time to change the clocks, forgetting the change, and therefore running very early or very late to activities causes delays and confusion. Furthermore, the time changes actually decrease efficiency as the disruption of individual circadian rhythm leads to sleep deprivation, and tired people don’t work effectively. Dr. Till Roenneberg, a German chronobiologist, states that due to DST, “the majority of the population has drastically decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, increasing susceptibility to illness, and is just plain tired.”

Beyond the obvious slowdown at work, inability to think clearly, due to sleep deprivation, is responsible for increased accidents in the workplace. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, sleep deprivation is partly responsible for human errors that cause nuclear meltdowns, grounded ships, and plane crashes. One study by the American Psychological Association shows that on the first Monday following the spring forward time change, workplace injuries increased by 5.7 percent, and caused the loss of 68 percent increase in lost work days, due to injury. “We contend that the springtime change is associated with an increase in the number and severity of workplace accidents, especially for those engaged in jobs requiring a high level of attention to detail. . . Studies have shown that lost sleep causes attention levels to drop off, (The Society of Human Resource Management.") 

Workplace injuries significantly reduce profitability for companies, in terms of understaffing, lost work days, and distraction from assigned tasks, but the largest cost is often in Workers’ Compensation for injured employees. These payouts alone cost US employers and estimated $1 billion each week, according to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration.) While discontinuing time changes would not eliminate all such costs, it would reduce them, while improving overall health.

Time Changes Increase Risk of Suicide and Heart Attacks

All mental health requires adequate rest, and sleep disruption comes at a price. For some, it may be no worse than a day or two of feeling “a bit off,” while for others, it may become a matter of life and death. According to the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, in Australia, male suicide rates increase in the week following the start Daylight Saving Time, compared with the rest of the year. Additionally, sleep deprivation is linked to “heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression, (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.”) It is not surprising, then, that heart attacks increase by 5 percent in the weeks following the spring DST change, (The New England Journal of Medicine.)

In contrast, maintaining summer hours improves health, as more daylight invites people out of doors after work and school, and increases physical activity. This would make a drastic difference in winter, when the evenings are naturally darker, and when many children huddle indoors immediately after school.

Longer sunlit days also mean more exposure to the sun’s rays, which can help fight depression. Each year, 20% of the population is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, (SAD) or “winter blues.” This is related to the decrease in overall sunlight and the fact that people stay indoors more during cold weather. According to the US National Library of Medicine, vitamin D plays a role in decreasing depression. Since most people in the US have insufficient levels of vitamin D and direct sunlight stimulates the skin to produce it, longer daylight could reduce and potentially eliminate winter blues.

Extending Summer Hours Year-Round Reduces Crime

More light also means fewer robberies. According to an article in Brookings Now, “When DST begins in the spring, robbery rates for the entire day fall an average of 7 %, with a much larger 27 % drop during the evening hour that gained some extra sunlight.” The article suggests that the change is due to the extra daylight occurring at the time when most people are leaving work. Even walking to the parking lot becomes safer when people can see threats, and are, themselves, more visible to passersby.  

The decrease in crime saves millions of dollars in damages. In 2007, when Congress extended DST by four weeks, crime rates dropped during those weeks, saving an estimated $59 million in robberies that did not occur. By continuing summer hours, the daylight lasts long enough for most 9-5 workers to make it home before dark. While it is true that mornings will be darker, most workers will be in or near their homes at that time, with a much shorter walk to the car, and quick access to help and safety.

Longer Daylight Boosts the Economy

Consumer spending increases during Daylight Saving Time, and decreases when it ends. More people shop, buy gasoline, and spend money during the daytime. According to ProCon.org, later daylight increases the retail and gas sales after work for the eight months of the year spent in Daylight Saving Time. Extended hours increased golf revenues up to $400 million in one month of DST. The barbecue industry, likewise, sees a profit increase $150 million during one month during summer hours. Los Angeles, California retailers report sales decreasing 3.5 % after the DST ends in the fall.

Keeping Daylight Saving Time Benefits Americans

\Americans can see a dramatic improvement in their quality of life by eliminating time changes and adhering to summer hours. With more efficient energy use, they can save money, while removing sleep disturbances helps keep them safe and productive. With adequate sleep, and its attendant improvement in health, comes the ability to enjoy life more. Crime reductions allow for greater peace of mind. People will have more time to shop and travel with a corresponding boost to the economy. Since time and the way it is used affect every aspect of life, continuing Daylight Saving Time has the potential to improve quality of human life in virtually every way. What could people accomplish if their greatest health challenges were removed, or eased? What could they build if their tax dollars were not used in crime investigations? No one knows for certain, but the prospects are bright. It's time to make a change that will save time, money, and lives, a new definition of Daylight Saving Time.

Works Cited

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Berk, Michael. “Small Shifts in Diurnal Rhythms are Associated with an Increase in Suicide: The Effects of Daylight Saving.” Sleep and Biological Rhythms, the Japanese Society of Sleep Research. January 2008. Wiley Online Library. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x/abstract;jsessionid=18E619378C325C1BFFBCBA1286843BB6.f02t02 . Accessed November 13, 2017.

“Business Case for Safety and Health.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor. https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/topics/businesscase/costs.html. Accessed November 15, 2017.

Doleac, Jennifer L. “Fighting Crime with Daylight Saving Time.” Sanders, Nicholas J. Brookings Now, Brookings. October 29, 2015. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2015/10/29/fighting-crime-with-daylight-saving-time/. Accessed November 13, 2017.

Handwerk, Brian. “Time to Move On? The Case Against Daylight Saving Time.” National Geographic. November 1, 2013. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131101-when-does-daylight-savings-time-end-november-3-science/. Accessed November 13, 2017.

Janszky, Imre, M.D., Ph.D. “Shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction.” Ljung, Rickard M.D., Ph.D. The New England Journal of Medicine. October 30, 2008.            http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc0807104. Accessed November 13, 2017.

“Just 33% See the Purpose of Daylight Saving Time.” Rasmussen Reports. March 7, 2014, http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/march_2014/just_33_see_the_purpose_of_daylight_saving_time. Accessed November 13, 2017.

Kotchen, Matthew J. “Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana.” Grant, Laura E. The National Bureau of Economic Research. October 2008. http://www.nber.org/papers/w14429. Accessed November 15, 2017.

Maurer, Roy. “Workplace Injuries Spike After Daylight Saving Time Change.” Society for Human Resource Management. Mar 6, 2015. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/risk-management/pages/workplace-injuries-daylight-saving-time.aspx. Accessed November 15, 2017.

Penckofer, Sue , PhD, RN.  “Vitamin D and Depression: Where is All the Sunshine?” Kouba, Joanne, PhD, RD. Byrn, Mary, BSN, RN. Ferrans, Carol Estwing, PhD, RN, FAAN. PMC, National Library of Medicine: National Institutes of Health, June 2010. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908269/. Accessed November 13, 2017.

Targum, Steven D, MD. “Seasonal Affective Disorder.”  Rosenthal, Norman, MD. PMC, National Library of Medicine: National Institutes of Health. May 2008. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686645/. Accessed November 13, 2017.

“Top 3 Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time.” ProCon. March 2017. https://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005345. Accessed November 13, 2017.

“What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency?” National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. June 2017. US Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd. Accessed November 15, 2017.