The History of Daylight Saving Time
Daylight saving time, or daylight savings time (DST), was first used in the United States in 1918. The idea wasn’t popular, and it ended seven months later when Congress repealed the bill.
Year-round daylight saving time was tried again during World War II when President Franklin Roosevelt brought back daylight saving time. It was officially called War Time and lasted from February 1942 through September 1945. Once again, it was not popular, and the country went back to standard time.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 was the first time the country would establish a twice-a-year changing of the clock. Daylight saving time or summer time would begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. And this is what we know today as “spring forward” and “fall back.”
Because of the 1973 oil embargo, Congress ordered year-around daylight saving time as a way to save on energy. The mid-1970s was a time of long gas lines, fuel shortages, and schools being closed because there was not enough fuel to heat them.
Studies found that this didn’t save any money, not to mention it was highly unpopular. It was especially unpopular with kids and parents that had to stand at school bus stops when it was still pitch dark out. Yearly daylight savings time lasted from January 1974 to October 1975.
Pros and Cons of Yearly Time Change
It appears there are as many in favor of year-round daylight saving time as there are against it. One thing is certain, each time it was tried before, it was unpopular, and the country eventually went back to standard time during the winter.
In 1974, the main problem was the late sunrise. Schools were getting complaints from parents who didn’t want their kids going to school in the dark. Many schools tried starting classes an hour later, but that meant kids were home an extra hour in the morning. In many cases, these kids were home unsupervised because their parents had to go to work at their usual time.
A later sunrise caused even worse problems for children going to school in the dark. On January 29, 1974, Florida Governor Rubin Askew called a special session for the state legislature to end winter daylight saving time.
The governor called the special session because eight school children in Florida had been killed in accidents that occurred between 6:30 and 9:00 a.m. since year-round daylight saving time was enacted [1].
Other politicians were starting to hear complaints about all of the problems that winter daylight savings time was causing. The plan didn’t work, and no one liked it.
Those in favor of year-round daylight savings time always point to the fact it is better to have an extra hour of sunlight after work than before work in the winter. It is possible they forget about the problems an extra hour of darkness in the morning will cause.
The idea of year-round daylight savings time comes around every once in a while. Every time it was enacted again, everyone hated it, and we went back to changing the clocks twice a year.
Year-Round Daylight Saving Time Sunrise Sunset Times
Unless someone was around to experience daylight saving time in the winter, it is hard to imagine it.
If we had year-round daylight savings time, the sun would rise at almost 9 a.m. in Minneapolis on December 29. The sun would set at 5:40 p.m., which isn’t a lot of extra sunlight in the afternoon.
At the other end of the country, in Jacksonville, Florida, the sun would rise at 8:22 a.m. and set at 6:35 p.m. if we had daylight savings time during the winter.
The Human Body Clock
Changing the clock forward for daylight saving time throws off our internal body clocks. We can change our clocks, or they can change automatically, but our brains don’t automatically reset. Morning light is necessary for resetting our circadian rhythm.
Our brains are wired for sunlight to reset our body clock. Sure we adjust to the time change, but it takes a couple of days or longer. Our body doesn’t like springing forward to daylight saving time. Falling back to standard time is going back to the time we should be on according to our body's circadian cycle.
Dr. Joseph Takahashi, Chair of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern, discovered the clock gene in mammals. The clock gene is a circadian gene that, when mutated, can lead to health problems.
Mutated Clock genes can cause delays in circadian functions, which can lead to dysfunctions in metabolic, behavioral, and cognitive abilities. Dr. Takahashi wrote,
“Every cell in our bodies keeps track of the time, and changes in daily patterns can trigger stress in our brains and cause sleep deprivation, disorientation, and memory loss. It can also lead to difficulties with learning, social interactions, and overall cognitive function.”
Our body is aligned with the sun and always has been. Various studies have found that after we switch to daylight saving time, our hormones are still aligned with the sun. We live our life by what time the clock shows, but our body clock is still aligned with the sun.
This leads to a misalignment of our body, and it is worse the further west in the time zone you live. In western parts of a time zone, your body is practically two hours out of alignment with normal sun time when you are on daylight saving time.
This misalignment with real-time or sun time can cause sleep problems and other health issues. Living on daylight savings time affects your entire body, mentally and physically.
An example of how being out of alignment with the sun could be harmful to our health is seen in overnight shift workers. They are more at risk of developing obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
The circadian clock is found in almost every cell and organ in our body [2]. With year-round DST, we would see more sunlight in the evening and less sunlight in the morning, telling our circadian clock to wake up later and misaligned our daily rhythm.
Daylight Saving Time Could Cause Heart Problems
There is scientific evidence that springing forward to daylight time is linked to traffic accidents and an increased risk of heart attacks. A study found an increase in the number of patients admitted to a hospital for A-fib or atrial fibrillation several days after the switch to daylight savings time [2].
Another study found a 21 percent decrease in patients admitted to the hospital for heart-related problems following the switch back to standard time in the fall [3].
Daylight Saving Time and Cancer Rates
Extensive research has found that those that live in the western parts of a time zone raise the risk of several different types of cancer. Studies show that liver cancer risk was increased by 11% for every five degrees further west in a time zone a person lived.
This risk would increase by 30% if everyone moved one time zone to the east. Breast cancer risk would increase by 15% if we had year-round daylight saving time [4].
Moving everyone one time zone to the east is exactly what happens each year when we spring forward with the clocks. One of the most important functions of our circadian clock is that it controls the release of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. Melatonin has also been shown to slow the growth of cancer.
The Time Change Affects Mental Health
The sudden change from daylight saving time to standard time is a dramatic shift in daylight patterns. One day the sun is shining at 6 p.m., and then suddenly, the next day, it is already dark at around 5 p.m.
This sudden change can cause depression and a condition known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Research with bright light therapy to treat SAD found that morning light was more effective in reducing winter depression than bright light in the evening [5].
Waking up with sunshine is beneficial for those with SAD and everyone else since it can reduce depression. If we had year-around DST, most of us would already be on the way to work or at work by the time the sun came up, around 8:30 a.m.
Even if you don’t suffer from seasonal affective disorder, waking up when it is still dark outside can create a sleepy feeling all day long. When you wake up groggy, you have what is known as brain fog and have a difficulty concentrating.
If you normally wake up at 6 a.m. each morning, your body would think you were waking up at 5 a.m. if we had permanent daylight saving time. And this can be especially hard during the winter months.
Standard Time Versus Daylight Saving Time Conclusion
We can set our clocks to whatever time we want to, but our body knows what time it really is. Life on our planet evolved with the sun and circadian rhythms. Standard time is as close to this as we can get.
Switching to permanent daylight savings could disrupt our body clock, possibly leading to health problems. Multiple studies have confirmed this, and science agrees with these findings.
Even though many Americans want permanent daylight saving time, it has been tried several times before. And each time, people hated it, and the country went back to either year-round standard time or our current system of falling back and springing forward each year.
At this time, numerous states have passed bills to remain on daylight savings time all year. But they can’t do that unless the federal government passes a law that allows this.
A state can elect to remain on year-round standard time without the federal government's approval. Only Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii stay on standard time all year.
© 2019 Sam Montana/Healthy Food and Life
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