"When we receive more light in the morning and darkness in the evening, our bodies and nature are better aligned, making it easier to wake up for our daily activities and easier to fall asleep at night. "The daily cycle of natural light and darkness is the most powerful timing cue to synchronize our body’s internal clock," AASM says. While the congresswoman said there does not seem to be a consensus among voters, she stated "we know that the majority of Americans do not want to keep switching the clocks back and forth."Īccording to the AASM, which is based in Illinois, standard time may be more aligned with our body's internal clock. Schakowsky said she has also heard from constituents who prefer longer daylight hours and as a result support permanent daylight saving time. Jan Schakowsky, of Illinois' 9th Congressional District and a Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where the bill currently sits. “I have received calls from constituents who prefer permanent standard time because they have safety concerns for children who have to wait too long in the dark during winter for the school bus," said Rep. The research overall is mixed, however, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports the opposite switch to permanent standard time, as research shows that bodies function best with more sunlight in the morning. A 2019 study, meanwhile, found that the risk of heart attacks went up in the week after clocks sprung forward, though other research did not find such an increase. Other studies have found that the switch to daylight saving brings small increases in workplace injuries and medical errors in the days following the change. rose 6% in the week after daylight saving started. "There’s some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock-switching has," Rubio said on the Senate floor in March, NBC News reported.Ī 2020 study found that fatal traffic accidents in the U.S. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who suggested it would reduce crime, encourage kids to play outside and lower the risk of heart attacks and car accidents. The Sunshine Protection Act was introduced by Sen. Overall, thoughts on the potential shift are mixed. Under legislation unanimously passed by the Senate earlier this year, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, the seasonal changing of clocks would effectively be eliminated in the U.S., except for Hawaii and parts of Arizona.ĭespite passage in the Senate, the bill has stalled in the House, where it remains in a committee to this day. What's the deal with the Sunshine Protection Act? In the 1970s, due to the 1973 oil embargo, Congress enacted a trial period of year-round daylight saving time from January 1974 to April 1975 in order to conserve energy. States could still exempt themselves from daylight saving time, as long as the entire state did so. on the last Sunday in April and turn back one hour at 2 a.m. It stated that clocks would advance one hour at 2 a.m. 30, 1945.ĭaylight saving time didn't become standard in the US until the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated standard time across the country within established time zones. 9 ,1942, Franklin Roosevelt instituted a year-round daylight saving time, which he called "war time." This lasted until Sept. It was unpopular and abolished after World War I. The United States didn't adopt daylight saving time until March 19, 1918. Germany was the first to adopt daylight saving time on May 1, 1916, during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. Some people like to credit Benjamin Franklin as the inventor of daylight saving time when he wrote in a 1784 essay about saving candles and saying, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." But that was meant more as satire than a serious consideration. In the United States, daylight saving time lasts for a total of 34 weeks, running from early-to-mid March to the beginning of November in states that observe it. On those days, clocks either shift forward or backward one hour.Ĭlocks used to spring ahead on the first Sunday in April and remained that way until the final Sunday in October, but a change was put in place in part to allow children to trick-or-treat in more daylight. Under the conditions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. What is daylight saving time?ĭaylight saving time is the changing of the clocks that typically begins in spring and ends in fall. CHICAGO'S FORECAST: Chilly Temps Won't Let Upĭaylight saving time will end at 2 a.m.
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