Would you get rid of daylight saving time?

[Michie]

The clocks in the U.S. will be "falling back" on Sunday, Nov. 2, marking the end of daylight saving time for 2025. If you could decide, would you abandon it forever?

Many countries observe daylight saving time (DST), in which clocks get pushed ahead one hour in March to gain more hours of daylight in the spring and summer. In the U.S., all but two states, Hawaii and Arizona (except for Navajo Nation) observe DST and thus are preparing to make the switch back to standard time on Sunday Nov. 2.

Not everyone is happy with this routine change, however, with recent surveys showing that 54% of Americans and 42% of Britons want to scrap DST altogether.


The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) favors permanent standard timebecause it is better aligned with our circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock. Because light exposure regulates the circadian rhythm, a mismatch between our body clock and the environment can lead to problems such as reduced sleep, higher heart rate and blood pressure, and impaired immune function, AASM representatives wrote in a position statement.

Continued below.

Would you get rid of daylight saving time?

The clocks in the U.S. will be "falling back" on Sunday, Nov. 2, marking the end of daylight saving time for 2025. If you could decide, would you abandon it forever?

www.livescience.com

 

[d taylor]

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I would, but i would also keep the time that the clocks will soon change to.

 

[Tuur]

When I was a wee lad, I asked my father why there was Daylight Savings Time. He said so congressmen could play golf in the afternoons. That's as good an answer as any. Daylight savings time is sold as saving energy, but it doesn't. I used to keep up with the load curves (system demand each hour), and all it does is shift the curve by one hour. That's all. When the US had the dim idea to keep it all year long to save energy, not only was most children in the continental US going to school in the dark, but schools had more use of heat because it was colder for longer in the school day. That lesson has been forgotten, and some states already have it set that if Congress so approves, they'll stay on DST the entire year.

I say do away with it. My wife is of a different opinion, and when we go to standard time, she complains about it until we're back on DST.

 

[DragonFox91]

It's all play. You can't add or subtract an hour from the day. It's dark either way

 

[Servus]

This has come up twice a year every year of my adult life, and it remains the same. I'm not expecting it to change in my lifetime.

 

[Clare73]

When I was a wee lad, I asked my father why there was Daylight Savings Time. He said so congressmen could play golf in the afternoons. That's as good an answer as any. Daylight savings time is sold as saving energy,

It's about more daylight time for activities after one gets home from work.

 

[iarwain]

I don't mind "falling back", but I can't stand "springing forward". Pick a time and stick with it.

 

[Tuur]

It's about more daylight time for activities after one gets home from work.

Which is was my father' observation about congressmen and golf. That's not how it was sold to the public, though. Part of that is we no longer rely on natural lighting like we did when Franklin woke one morning and observed his room was flooded with sunlight despite the early hour.

 

[Bob Crowley]

In Australia five states and territories have daylight saving, and three don't.

The three states with a tropical or sub-tropical climate don't have it - Queensland, Nothern Territory and Western Australia. Western Australia has a significant population in the South West (mediterranean climate) who possibly would like daylight saving, but it would not be popular in the northern part, including the mining towns which underpin the state's wealth.

The five states and territories which do have it are all in the southern part of Australia.

I don't like it myself and since I live in Queensland I don't have to worry about it.

DST in States and Territories in Australia (8 in total, 5 observe DST, 3 don't observe DST)

States which have it -

Australian Capital Territory 5 Oct – 6 Apr
Victoria 5 Oct – 6 Apr
New South Wales 5 Oct – 6 Apr
South Australia 5 Oct – 6 Apr
Tasmania 5 Oct – 6 Apr

States which don't -

Queensland No DST
Western Australia No DST
Northern Territory No DST

PS - The Tropic of Capricorn passes through all three of the last three states or territories, which means they have hot summers.

 

[Fervent]

Here in la-la land we voted a few years back to get rid of the time switch. I forget whether we wanted to stay on PST or PDT, but whichever it was the court overruled the initiative because they found it to go against the CA constitution.

 

[Fervent]

It's all play. You can't add or subtract an hour from the day. It's dark either way

I'm not sure the legitimacy of the attribution, but I have heard about an old native response to daylight savings time, where he said, "Only the white man would think that by cutting two inches from the top of a blanket and sewing it on the bottom he has given himself a longer blanket."

 

[FireDragon76]

It's about more daylight time for activities after one gets home from work.

Which, if you live in some southern states, is useless anyways, since it's so hot and/or humid outside. Thats' why Arizona abolished Daylight Savings altogether.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Currently, sunrise in Boston doesn't happen until 7:15 AM.

In other words, at 7 AM, it's still dark out.

So, if we're going to eliminate DST, then time for school and work will have to change, so kids aren't
going to the bus stop in the dark.

Then of course are the scientists;

"Scientists generally support keeping standard time

Scientists generally support keeping standard time rather than observing daylight saving time. Research indicates that staying on standard time benefits health by aligning circadian rhythms and reducing the disruption caused by time changes. Studies show that changing clocks twice a year can lead to increased health risks, such as higher rates of stroke and obesity. Additionally, the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time advocates for eliminating seasonal time changes, citing improved sleep, reduced risk of accidents, and better overall well-being."