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Daylight Saving Time: Benefits, Drawbacks, and Controversies

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Published: Feb 7, 2024

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Benefits of dst, drawbacks of dst, controversies surrounding dst, works cited.

• “Daylight Saving Time.” US Department of Energy, 2021, energy.gov/articles/daylight-saving-time.
• Kantermann, Thomas, and Till Roenneberg. “Is daylight saving time a circadian risk factor?.” Journal of Biological Rhythms, vol. 29, no. 5, 2014, pp. 388-398.
• “Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time.” Investopedia, 2021, investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/110715/pros-and-cons-daylight-saving-time.asp.
• “Tourism and Daylight Saving.” Tourism Research Australia, 2019, tra.gov.au/research/tourism-and-daylight-saving.
• “Winter Time Arrangements in Europe.” European Parliament, 2018, europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/625156/EPRS_BRI(2018)625156_EN.pdf.

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Daylight Saving Time – Top 3 Pros and Cons

In 2024, in the United States, Daylight Saving Time (DST) runs from Sunday, Mar. 10, at 2am with clocks “springing forward” one hour to Sunday, Nov. 5, when clocks “fall back” to Standard Time.

In 2025, in the United States, DST will run from Sunday, Mar. 5 to Sunday, Nov. 2.

DST was implemented in the United States nationally on Mar. 31, 1918 as a wartime effort to save an hour’s worth of fuel each day to light lamps and coal to heat homes. Repealed nationwide in 1919, some individual localities (such as New York City ) maintained the biannual time change in what Time Magazine called “a chaos of clocks” until 1966 when the Uniform Time Act made DST consistent nationwide. [ 8 ]

DST has been “permanently” implemented nationwide twice, once during World War II and once in the 1970s. As the war ended, only 17% wanted to keep “war time” (DST) year round. In the winter of 1973-1974, DST was used to conserve fuel during the energy crisis . 53% opposed keeping DST, probably because in some parts of the country (primarily western edges of time zones) wouldn’t see the sun rise until after 9am. [ 39 ] [ 40 ]

61 countries and territories used Daylight Saving Time in 2022, while 10 used DST in some jurisdictions and not others (like the United States), and 176 countries and territories did not use DST. In the United States, 48 states participate in Daylight Saving Time. Arizona , Hawaii , some Amish communities, and the American territories ( American Samoa , Guam , Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , and the Northern Mariana Islands ) do not observe DST. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 43 ] [ 45 ]

55% of Americans said they are not disrupted by the time change, 28% report a minor disruption, and 13% said the change is a major disruption. A 2020 poll found 40% of Americans would prefer to stay in Standard Time all year and 31% would prefer to stay in Daylight Saving Time all year, eliminating the time change. 28% of Americans would keep the time change twice a year. However, a 2022 Monmouth University poll found 61% of Americans would stop changing time twice a year, of whom 44% would keep DST and 13% would stay on standard time all year. 35% would keep the time changes. [ 20 ] [ 34 ] [ 44 ]

On Mar. 15, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act that would have made DST permanent as of Nov. 20, 2023 if approved by the House and signed by President Biden . The delay was meant to give airlines and other transportation providers time to adjust to the change as they set schedules months ahead of time. However, no action was taken in the U.S. House of Representatives to advance the bill, rendering it dead. [ 41 ] [ 42 ]

Should the United States Keep Daylight Saving Time?

Pro 1 Daylight Saving Time's (DST) longer daylight hours promote safety. Longer daylight hours make driving safer, lowers car accident rates, and lowers the risk of pedestrians being hit by a car. [ 3 ] [ 30 ] Economists Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders found that robberies drop about 7% overall, and 27% in the evening hours after the spring time change. They state, “Most street crime occurs in the evening around common commuting hours of 5 to 8 PM, and more ambient light during typical high-crime hours makes it easier for victims and passers-by to see potential threats and later identify wrongdoers.” [ 17 ] [ 22 ] Also, daylight in the evening makes it safer for joggers, people walking dogs after work, and children playing outside, among others, because drivers are able to see people more easily and criminal activity is lowered. Read More

Pro 2 DST is good for the economy. Later daylight means more people shopping after work, increasing retail sales, and more people driving, increasing gas and snacks sales for eight months of the year (the time we spend in DST). [ 2 ] [ 18 ] [ 19 ] The golf industry reports that one month of DST was worth $200 to $400 million because of the extended evening hours golfers can play. The barbecue industry estimates their profits increase $150 million for one month of DST. In 2007, an estimated $59 million was saved because fewer robberies were committed thanks to the sun being up later. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Chambers of Commerce tend to support DST because of the positive effect on the economy. Consumer spending increases during DST, giving the economy a boost. Compared to Phoenix, Arizona, which does not have DST, Los Angeles, California, shoppers spent 3.5% less at local retailers after DST ended in the fall. [ 21 ] [ 31 ] Read More

Pro 3 DST promotes active lifestyles. When the day is lighter later, people tend to participate in more outdoor activities after work. [ 14 ] Hendrik Wolff, Associate Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University, states, because of DST “people engaged in more outdoor recreation and less indoor-TV watching… An additional 3 percent of people engaged in outdoor behaviors who otherwise would have stayed indoors.” [ 2 ] Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward , states, “Baseball [was] a huge early supporter, too, because there [was] no artificial illumination of parks, so [they could] get school kids and workers to ball games with the extended daylight, they have a later start time.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Daylight Saving Time (DST) is bad for your health. Changing sleep patterns, even by one hour, goes against a person’s natural circadian rhythms and has negative consequences for health. One study found that the risk of a heart attack increases 10% the Monday and Tuesday following the spring time change. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Researchers found an increase in cluster headaches (sudden and debilitating headaches) after the fall time change. [ 15 ] James Wyatt, Associate Professor at Rush University Medical Center, states, “We’re encountering an increase in extra auto and workplace accidents on Monday or perhaps even carrying through the first week of the Spring time shift.” [ 1 ] In the weeks following the spring DST time change, male suicide rates rose in Australia compared to the weeks following the return to standard time in the fall. [ 4 ] DST increases the risk that a car accident will be fatal by 5-6.5% and results in over 30 more deaths from car accidents annually. [ 29 ] Read More

Con 2 DST drops productivity. The Monday after the spring time change is called “Sleepy Monday,” because it is one of the most sleep-deprived days of the year. The week after the spring DST time change sees an increase in “cyber-loafing” (employees wasting time on the internet) because they’re tired. [ 5 ] [ 23 ] Till Roenneberg, a German chronobiologist, who studies the body’s relationship with light and dark, notes that the human circadian clock doesn’t adjust to DST and the “consequence of that is that the majority of the population has drastically decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, increasing susceptibility to illness, and is just plain tired.” [ 2 ] Read More

Con 3 DST is expensive. William F. Shughart II, economist at Utah State University, states that the simple act of changing clocks costs Americans $1.7 billion in lost opportunity cost based on average hourly wages, meaning that the ten or so minutes spent moving clocks, watches, and devices forward and backward could be spent on something more productive. [ 2 ] The Air Transport Association estimated that DST cost the airline industry $147 million dollars in 2007 thanks to confused time schedules with countries who do not participate in the time change. [ 1 ] According to the Lost-Hour Economic Index, moving the clocks forward has a total cost to the US economy of $434 million nationally, factoring in health issues, decreased productivity, and workplace injuries. [ 32 ] Read More

Did You Know?

1. Benjamin Franklin is often credited with the idea of DST because, in a satirical letter to the authors of The Journal of Paris , he suggested the French wake earlier to take advantage of “using sunshine instead of candles.” [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]

2. DST as we know it was proposed by a New Zealand entomologist, George Vernon Hudson , who wanted longer hours for insect study . [ 28 ]

3. The first locality to enact DST was Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay , Ontario), Canada, in 1908. The first country to enact DST was Germany on Apr. 30, 1916, although the Germans dropped the time change at war’s end. [ 6 ] [ 8 ]

4. American farmers were opposed to DST because, regardless of what the clock said, their cows weren’t ready to be milked until later in the day during DST. [ 1 ] [ 8 ]

5. A resort in Madagascar created its own DST, which runs an hour ahead of the rest of the country, so the lemurs would “naturally join us in the Oasis garden… for the ‘5 O’clock tea.'” [ 9 ]

6. Some ancient civilizations are known to have used practices similar to DST. Roman water clocks , for example, used different scales for different times of the year. [ 10 ]

Discussion Questions

1. Should the United States keep Daylight Saving Time? Why or why not?

2. Do you feel the effects of springing forward and/or falling back? What effects do you feel and how do they impact your day?

3. Compare and contrast the economic benefits and disadvantages of Daylight Saving Time. Is DST good or bad for the economy overall? Explain your answer.

Take Action

1. Consider which states have enacted laws promoting full-time Daylight Saving Time with the National Conference of State Legislatures .

2. Explore the benefits and disadvantages of Daylight Saving Time with National Geographic .

3. Evaluate the objectives of the Save Standard Time campaign.

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing U.S. senators and representatives .

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Rethinking Daylight Savings Time: An In-Depth Analysis

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Introduction

Historical roots and economic implications of dst.

Impact on Health and Productivity

Modern relevance and the call for change.

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Six things to know about the political debate around daylight saving time

Twice a year, every year, the ritual returns as literal clockwork: the start or end of daylight saving time.

Millions of Americans, filled with grunts or glee, tap at their devices or wind their watch hands, manually changing the time to reflect a change in seasons.

But in recent years, lawmakers have talked as if this timeworn tradition might be on its last legs. A raft of bills on the federal and state levels are taking aim at the biannual time changes — and yet nothing is changing, at least for now.

Here's a look at where things stand.

What's the status of that Senate bill to end time changes?

In March 2022, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act. The intent behind the bill was to make daylight saving time permanent starting in spring of 2023.

And at first, it looked as though it might become a reality. The Senate passed the bill through an expedited process and with unanimous consent — legislative rarities in this day and age.

But the bill failed to be taken up in the House. Members cited higher priorities, like a budget deficit and war in Ukraine, but there was also a growing chorus of criticism about the bill's approach (more on this below).

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced the bill this March, and it was sent to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, but there's been no notable movement on it since. A companion bill, introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., is similarly stuck in committee at the House level.

Even if either bill manages to pass both chambers, it'd still need to be signed by President Biden, who hasn't indicated how he leans on the issue.

So for now, the tradition remains intact.

When is the end of daylight saving time 2023?

This season's turnover time is 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, meaning residents of most states will want to move their clocks back an hour when they go to bed this Saturday.

Two states — Hawaii and Arizona — don't observe daylight saving time. The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands also don't change their clocks.

What's the argument against the Sunshine Protection Act?

When the Sunshine Protection Act was first debated in a House subcommittee, experts said switching to permanent daylight saving time would do everything: save lives, reduce crime, conserve energy and improve health.

And pretty much everyone agrees that ending the time changes is generally a good idea. Our bodies can be very sensitive to disruptions to our circadian rhythms.

But the medical community has taken issue with how the bill proposes to make the change — specifically, that it mandates all states adopt permanent daylight saving time rather than sticking to standard time.

Doctors and scientists argue that standard time is actually better for our health. Our internal clock is better aligned with getting light in the morning, which, in turn, sets us up for better sleep cycles.

The bill's sponsors aren't budging though. Sen. Rubio is still pushing for permanent daylight saving time.

And the biggest argument for this approach may be an economic one. The idea is that having more light in the evenings encourages people to go out and do things — i.e., spend money.

The nation's convenience stores, for example, told a congressional subcommittee that they see an uptick in spending when clocks are set to daylight saving.

Could the states adopt their own time change rules?

With federal legislation stuck in a holding pattern, states could take up the issue, but they're still subject to some federal limitations.

The Uniform Time Act , which was passed in 1966, says that states can enact permanent standard time but not permanent daylight saving time.

At least 550 bills and resolutions have surfaced concerning time changes at the state level in recent years, according to a tally from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). So the same debate that's happening at the federal level is playing out in statehouses across the country.

Which states are trying to end daylight saving time?

Nineteen states have actually passed measures pledging to switch to permanent daylight time if Congress changes the rules to allow for such an action.

Those states are:

• Mississippi 
• Montana 
• South Carolina

California voters also authorized a resolution in 2018, but lawmakers haven't taken any action on the legislation so we're not counting it here.

As of September 2023, nine states were actively considering legislation that would also end daylight saving, but by switching the state to year-round standard time, according to the NCSL.

• Massachusetts
• Pennsylvania

But these pieces of legislation are all marked 'pending' so residents should still plan to turn back their clocks this year — and check in before the next time daylight saving time starts up again.

When will daylight saving time resume in 2024?

That'll be Sunday, March 10. Mark your calendars.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

What to Know About the Push to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

E arly Sunday morning at 2 a.m., clocks across the world moved back one hour to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time in a practice with origins that dates back more than a century.

Daylight Saving Time, which adjusts time to make better use of the sunlight, lasts from March to November. For the remaining four months of the year, the United States goes by Standard Time.

Many hold the opinion that the U.S. needs to adopt either Standard Time (ST) or Daylight Saving Time (DST) year-round.

There has been a bipartisan push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the U.S. among legislators, with many citing increased health and financial benefits if the bi-annual clock change didn’t happen.

Why do we have Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight Saving Time dates back to World War I, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) says , as countries engaged in an effort to better preserve power and fuel.

Consumerism was also a factor, with the Chamber of Commerce famously in favor of the policy because Americans who left work while the light was still out were more likely to go out shopping in the afternoon, TIME previously reported . Sports and recreational activities also skyrocketed with greater sunshine hours, making some believe it was good for people’s health.

Although the practice was abolished on a national level after the war, states were allowed to keep it on a state-by-state basis. This caused transportation-related issues as local times differed within the same region, and ultimately, the DOT was given the authority to implement Daylight Saving Time across the nation.

By 1966, the practice was standardized after the passage of the Uniform Time Act, which said the nation would observe half a year of Daylight Saving Time and another six months of Standard Time. States were given the chance to opt in or out. Arizona, for instance, is one of two states that opted out because it gets plenty of daylight and heat in the summer.

In 2005, U.S. began observing eight months of Daylight Saving Time, which it still does today.

Why is there a push to keep Daylight Savings Time year-round?

Sen. Marco Rubio most recently introduced the Sunshine Protection Act in March, where it passed unanimously. The bill, which has yet to pass through the House of Representatives, would make Daylight Saving permanent. It remains stalled in Congress.

This proposed change means people would see greater sunsets after 6 p.m. throughout the year, with fewer mornings with the sun rising before 7 a.m., according to WSLS .

In the past few years, state legislatures have considered at least 450 bills that would establish year round Daylight Saving Time should a federal law in favor pass, the National Conference of State Legislatures found . Another 29 states have introduced legislation for year-round Daylight Savings Time.

Studies show that changing the clock twice a year can increase the risk of seasonal depression , stroke and cardiac arrest. A 2015 Brookings report also found that robberies also dropped 27% during the afternoon hour that gained some extra daylight.

A JP Morgan Chase & Co. study from 2016 also found that the end of daylight saving reduces card spending per capita by 3.5%, showing strong economic benefits.

“As the sun sets on our sunshine and we enter a long, dark winter, Congress has a chance to do something almost unheard of in the wake of a midterm election: pass bipartisan legislation,” said Sen. Ed Markey, an original sponsor of the Sunshine Protection Act, in an online statement . “Now that the Senate has voted unanimously to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, I’m sending rays of support to the House to get this done so Americans don’t have to suffer in darkness.”

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Recommended Citation

Steve P. Calandrillo and Dustin E. Buehler, Time Well Spent: An Economic Analysis of Daylight Saving Time Legislation , 43 Wake Forest L. Rev. 45 (2008), https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-articles/134

Steve P. Calandrillo , University of Washington School of Law Follow Dustin E. Buehler

Time Well Spent: An Economic Analysis of Daylight Saving Time Legislation

Publication title.

Wake Forest Law Review

cost-benefit analysis, daylight savings time

Document Type

Several nations implemented daylight saving time legislation in the last century, including the United States. The United States briefly experimented with year-round daylight saving time twice—during World War II and the energy crises in the 1970s. Agency studies and congressional hearings from the 1970s show several benefits of year-round daylight saving time, along with potential disadvantages. These studies are dated, and much has changed in the last thirty years. While congressional efforts to extend daylight saving time in 2007 have again focused on the energy savings this legislation would produce, far more meaningful benefits have been largely ignored.

This Article collects and analyzes modern research on daylight saving time, concluding that year-round daylight saving time would save hundreds of lives annually by decreasing motor vehicle and pedestrian fatalities. Furthermore, extra light in the evening hours reduces criminal activity and results in energy savings from decreased peak electricity demand. Finally, year-round daylight saving time would eliminate the negative effects caused by the current spring and fall time changes. These advantages significantly outweigh the potential costs of daylight saving during winter months. The time has come for Congress to enact year-round daylight saving time legislation-each year we wait costs hundreds of American lives and millions of dollars.

Part I of this Article examines the history of daylight saving time, from its origins as satirical fodder to the debates of the present day. This history shows that the United States has had an inconsistent (and not always rational) experience with daylight saving time. The nation oscillated between periods of uniform time observance and local time observance. It has twice experimented with year-round daylight saving time. If nothing else, the current summer observance of daylight saving time in the United States constitutes a middle point between the extremes of the past.

Part II of this Article examines empirical results, focusing in particular on studies and research from the United States' 1974 experiment with year-round daylight saving time during the energy crises. Agency studies and congressional hearings from the 1970s highlight several advantages and disadvantages of extended daylight saving. This portion of the Article also stresses that these dated studies should inform our analysis of the issue, but they should not dictate our conclusions-much has changed in the last thirty years.

Finally, Part III examines current studies and research using cost-benefit analysis and argues that Congress should implement year-round daylight saving time. Studies show that year-round daylight saving time has several significant advantages, including a decrease in motor vehicle and pedestrian fatalities, energy savings from reduced peak electricity demands, and a potential decrease in crime. Additionally, year-round daylight saving time avoids negative effects caused by the current spring and fall time changes. Finally, year-round daylight saving time does not endanger school children, and its benefits outweigh other notable disadvantages.

Thus, on balance, the benefits of extending daylight saving time dramatically outweigh its costs, and Congress should step up to adopt year-round daylight saving time legislation before hundreds of additional lives are sacrificed by those who seek nothing better than the status quo.

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It is time to understand daylight saving time

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José María Martín-Olalla, Jorge Mira, It is time to understand daylight saving time, Sleep , Volume 46, Issue 3, March 2023, zsac309, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac309

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Dear Editor,

Sleep recently published a position statement by the Sleep Research Society supporting the abolition of the seasonal clock change, and the adoption of permanent standard time in the United States after “a thorough review of the existing literature” [ 1 ]. The beginning section of the statement, devoted to the history of daylight saving time (DST) regulations, shows a key misunderstanding which often occurs within the chronobiological and sleep community. We bring here this letter in an attempt to clarify what is and what is not DST.

Malow [ 1 ] attributes to Benjamin Franklin the concept of changing the hours of human activity to “save daylight” and ends saying: “In contrast to what Franklin proposed, where a population wakes earlier to make the best use of daylight, DST changes the clock time. DST shifts daylight into the early evening in exchange for less daylight in the early morning.” There are two things of the utmost importance to note. First, DST does not shift daylight, which is a natural phenomenon alien to human conventions. All else equal, DST changes the phase of human activity: it is advanced in spring and delayed in autumn. As a result of this, the second point to note is: DST regulations exactly achieve what Franklin demanded; the population wakes earlier in summer, and later in winter. In other words: there is no “in contrast” that opposes the current, annoying, DST regulations to Franklin’s prior proposal. Both bring the same main effect: “make the best use of daylight,” meaning people wakes up earlier in summer and later in winter or, only metaphorically, both shift “daylight into the early evening in exchange for less daylight in the early morning.”

There are issues to criticize in connection with the seasonal clock regulations (the stroke of 1 h and the choice of the transition dates, chiefly), but their main effect is not one of those issues because it goes in line with the ancient seasonal practice, and in line with the role of daylight (sunrise) as a synchronizer for the onset of human activity. Therefore, we find interesting that position papers [ 1 ] and review papers [ 2 ] demand the canceling of the regulation, the adoption of permanent standard time, but, at the same time, they acknowledge the propensity of the population for advancing the activity during the summer (and delaying it back in winter). The thing to note is that since the 20th-century Daylight Saving Time regulations are successfully easing this propensity in modern, Extratropical societies. Else, people would have already delayed their morning times in summer, playing against the regulations [ 3 ] or, simply, they would have been deprecated. In this line, we hypothesize that the abolition of the practice will not improve the current scenario in the ranges of latitudes where the contiguous United States locate [ 4 ].

Roenneberg et al.’s [ 2 ] “potential solution” to daylight saving time consists in the adoption of seasonal start times. In 1810 (only 20 years after Franklin’s death), the Spanish National Assembly already regulated their opening and closing times seasonally (10 am–2 pm from October to April; 9 am–1 pm from May to September) [ 3 ], imperfectly mimicing the natural, ancient seasonal adaptation at their circle of latitude, bringing early activity in summer and late activity in winter to representatives. This seasonal behavior has been superseded by the current clock regulations. Both solutions are identical on an individual basis and bring the same hazards. In addition, we must note that during the past 100 years people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, have had every opportunity to offset the clock regulations by moving their start times in opposition (as an example 9 am during the standard time (ST) period and 10 am during the DST period). Nearly nobody behaved like that. Nonetheless, DST is flagged as an “artificial” setting [ 2 , 5 ].

We do acknowledge that the transition dates should be altered for the benefit of the population. The spring transition date should come after the Equinox so that larger shares of the population do not experience a dark rise time after clocks are changed. An early April transition date, as occurred until 2007 in the United States, would help to mitigate this. Accordingly, if the autumn transition were set to early October, as occurred until 1954, many working population and children would cease to be subjected to the stressing dark hours in the October mornings. See Figure 1 for a graphical sketch of this idea.

The yearly evolution of the solar altitude at the hour of the winter sunrise (top thick black line, designated 07:22 ST); at 1 h ahead (medium thick black line, designated 07:22 DST or 06:22 ST); and at the summer sunrise (bottom thin blueish line, designated 05:31 DST) for the 40 °N circle of latitude (the latitude of New York and Madrid). The winter sunrise is a synchronizer for the onset of human activity [ 6 , 7 ]. When DST is set from early April to early October, the onset of the human activity occurs in daylight and delays at most 01 h 51 min from the sunrise. This proposition is noted by solid lines. The vertical arrows annotate the current transition dates in the United States. Numbers inside the graph annotate solar altitude at the beginning of calendar months. The orange zigzag line sketches a four-stroke circadian preadaptation to the spring transition (from the standard clock to the daylight saving clock) achieved by an alarm clock.

The deepest concern of the chronobiological and sleep community lies on the hazards that the stroke of 1 h brings [ 8–10 ]. Yet, this is unavoidable after clock time gained significance in modern societies (see the preceding example in Spain): assemblies, schools, companies, and universities can only regulate their start times by whole hours, and not smoothly. Again, DST regulations have provided a simple, effective, socially synchronized mechanism to do so.

Notwithstanding this, individuals can adapt their phase preemptively by altering their alarm clock in the weeks preceding the spring transition. The zigzag line in Figure 1 shows the idea for a four 15-min stroke adaptation. Similar settings for three (20 min) or two (30 min) strokes are possible.

Malow [ 1 ] alerts that evening light “extended too close to bedtime can also disrupt sleep patterns.” However, this observation is mainly associated with the shortening of the scotoperiod that the summer brings to Extratropical latitudes. We must note that the winter sunrise time and the summer sunset time are separated by roughly 12 h, irrespective of latitude. If the onset of human activity is determined by the winter sunrise time and clock regulations apply, then the onset of human activity in summer is separated by 11 h from the sunset time, which likely suffices for proper sleep. For those individuals with an onset time earlier than the winter sunrise time, the clock regulations come less handy in summer. Noteworthy, the regulations have also played a role in preventing human activity from starting before the winter sunrise, thus minimizing the size of this group [ 4 ].

None declared.

The authors confirm that the data supporting this study are available within the manuscript.

Sunrise times and solar altitudes in figure 1 were computed with the help of the software ‘xplanet’ by Hari Nair ( https://xplanet.sourceforge.net/ ) to compute the solar declination during the year 2022; and the script ‘Equation of Time’ by Darin C. Koblick (available at MATLAB Central File Exchange https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/32793-equation-of-time ) to compute the equation of time.

Malow BA. It is time to abolish the clock change and adopt permanent Standard Time in the United States: a sleep research society position statement. Sleep. 2022 ; 45 ( 12 ): zsac236 . doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsac236

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Martín-Olalla JM. The long term impact of daylight saving time regulations in daily life at several circles of latitude . Sci Rep. 2019 ; 9 : 18466 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54990-6

Martín-Olalla JM. A chronobiological evaluation of the risks of canceling daylight saving time . Chronobiol Int. 2022 ; 39 ( 1 ): 1 – 4 . doi: 10.1080/07420528.2021.1963760

Johnson KG , et al.  . Daylight saving time: neurological and neuropsychological implications . Curr Sleep Med Rep. 2022 ; 8 : 86 – 96 . doi: 10.1007/S40675-022-00229-2

Martín-Olalla JM. Latitudinal trends in human primary activities: characterizing the winter day as a synchronizer . Sci Rep. 2018 ; 8 : 5350 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23546-5

Martín-Olalla JM. Seasonal synchronization of sleep timing in industrial and pre-industrial societies . Sci Rep. 2019 ; 9 : 6772 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43220-8

Janszky I , et al.  . Shifts to and from daylight saving time and incidence of myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2009 ; 359 ( 18 ): 1966 – 1968 . doi: 10.1056/NEJMC0807104

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Farmers cite daylight saving's work and health impacts, vote for it to be cut back

ABC Rural Farmers cite daylight saving's work and health impacts, vote for it to be cut back

Farmers in NSW are calling for daylight saving months to be cut back.

There is growing scientific evidence to back their call, but Premier Chris Minns has ruled out any change.

What's next?

A private member's bill will test the political support.

Farmers in New South Wales are calling for change as a growing body of evidence suggests daylight saving is bad for people's health.

Sleep Health Foundation chair Shanthakumar Rajaratnam, a professor of sleep and circadian medicine at Monash University, says people lose sleep in the transition in and out of daylight saving.

Dr Rajaratnam said that could affect their mental and physical wellbeing but there were serious long-term impacts as well . 

"There is a worldwide movement now looking at whether daylight saving should be discontinued on the basis of its health effects," he said.

Dr Rajaratnam said there was a rise in cardiovascular events and motor vehicle accidents in the transition periods, but long term it could impact on mood, depression, anxiety, stress and burnout. 

"Certain kinds of heart disease, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer and reproductive disorders are all linked to disturbance of sleep," he said. 

A growing number of countries have abandoned daylight saving, including all of Asia and most of Africa, Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Namibia, Russia, Samoa, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay and Mexico.

About 70 countries continue the practice.

Daylight saving was introduced nationally in Australia during World War I as a fuel-saving measure and has been in and out of favour in different states since.  

This year, clocks in states and territories with daylight saving will go forward by an hour at 2am on October 6, and return to standard time at 3am on April 6 next year. 

Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory don't have daylight saving, creating five time zones across the country in the warmer months.    

Young people at risk

University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, Translational Research Collective, Brain and Mind Centre research fellow Mirim Shi was also concerned about the impact of daylight saving.

Dr Shi said some studies had reported an increase in suicides .

She said the impacts could be greater in young people who naturally slept later. 

"They suffer from loss of sleep, increased depressive symptoms, higher caffeine intake, and even substance use," she said.

The NSW Farmers Conference in Sydney this week debated a motion to start daylight saving a month later and finish a month earlier, cutting the duration from six to four months.

That motion was changed to a call for "any shortening of daylight saving" and was passed by the NSW Farmers Association members.

They said farmers couldn't start work on time when daylight saving kicked in because it was too dark. 

The sun came up at 6:53am in Sydney on Wednesday but rose at 7:07am at Bourke in the far west of the state.

NSW Farmers Association president Xavier Martin said the impact on farm households was extraordinary, especially for children in remote areas.

He said some had to leave home in the dark to take a long bus journey to school when daylight saving started in October.

"Right when they're looking to wake up with the sun, we plunge them back into darkness and they're out there at the mailbox having to get on the bus in the dark again," Mr Martin said.

"Children don't want to go to sleep when it's light either, which is hard on young families."

Political support

Labor in NSW has ruled out making changes to daylight saving, with Premier Chris Minns saying it helped get people out in the sunshine.

The NSW Liberal Party hasn't supported previous bills to change it, but the NSW Nationals would. 

North Coast NSW MP Geoff Provest has been drafting a private member's bill to get daylight saving changed.

But it would need support from the Liberals and independents on the crossbench in NSW to get it passed.

He said the time difference with Queensland made life difficult for those on the border and there was no advantage to daylight saving anymore, as people were often working from home and had flexible work arrangements.

Dr Rajantarum wanted politicians to look at the evidence on health impacts.

He said his research was continuing, but one solution could be to drop daylight saving and stay with normal time zones.

"It is critically important that we prioritise sleep health and circadian health as a basis for important government policies like daylight saving," he said.

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