This Sunday, March 9th, most of the United States will shift to daylight saving time, “springing forward” and losing an hour of sleep. The semi-annual clock change reignites the perennial debate over whether or not the practice should continue.
Despite widespread discussion and numerous legislative attempts, the twice-yearly time change remains in place. Lawmakers’ efforts to establish either permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time have yet to gain federal traction.
READ: Florida Senators Moody, Scott Spearhead Effort To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent
President Trump recently expressed a lukewarm stance on the issue, calling it a “50-50 issue.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) have reintroduced legislation, the Sunshine Protection Act, aiming to make daylight saving time the year-round standard.
The official time switch occurs at 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 9th. The time change is not merely about losing an hour of sleep.
Experts warn of significant health consequences, including increased workplace accidents, road accidents, and medical errors due to sleep deprivation, disruption of natural body clocks, with health groups favoring permanent standard time, and difficulty for children and families to adjust to altered sleep schedules.
A recent Gallup poll shows 54% of Americans favor permanent standard time, while 40% prefer daylight saving time.
READ: Florida Senator Rick Scott Renews Push To End Clock Changes With Sunshine Protection Act
Public support for daylight saving time has decreased significantly since 1999. Daylight saving time was first adopted in the U.S. in 1918 to conserve energy.
A previous attempt to make daylight saving time permanent in the 1970s was quickly reversed due to safety concerns for children. Numerous states are considering legislation related to daylight saving time, but federal approval is required for year-round daylight saving time.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. If federal legislation fails to pass, clocks will “fall back” to standard time on Sunday, November 2nd.
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