From a scientific and circadian perspective, DST can misalign our internal body clocks, especially when evenings remain bright for longer. This delay in natural light exposure can push back sleep start, potentially leading to sleep deprivation and affecting overall health.
What are the disadvantages of daylight saving time?
Moving the clocks forward in the spring results in going to sleep and waking up before our internal clocks are ready for us to. This misalignment lasts for the duration of DST, Spira says, and can reduce the amount of sleep we're able to get, to the detriment of our health .
There is an annual increase of workplace and automobile accidents every year when we turn our clocks forward. Because DST can fragment the circadian rhythm, which can take days if not weeks to reset, we're less likely to experience the deep restorative sleep that sharpens mental acuity and increases reaction time.
It is often said that evenings are longer during DST as the Sun sets one hour later. But that is only half true: On the day after DST starts, the Sun does indeed rise and set at a later time on the clock, creating the illusion of a longer evening.
Your body operates on an internal clock called the circadian rhythm, and certain factors, including light, can affect it. “With DST, between March and November, your body is exposed to less morning light and more evening light, which can throw off your circadian rhythm,” said sleep medicine specialist Dr. Phyllis C.
The Dark Side of Daylight Saving Time – What You Need to Know
Why is daylight savings so exhausting?
One study found that the average person gets 40 minutes less sleep on the Monday after DST begins compared with other nights of the year. "Disrupted sleep can cause people to feel fatigued, groggy, and less focused," says Dr. Czeisler.
In other words, we're more likely to be grumpy and tired – but unable to fall asleep – in the days following daylight saving time. One study showed that hospitals reported addressing 11% more depressive symptoms right after the fall time change.
However, he was not seriously advocating for the practice as policy. According to The Franklin Institute, the credit (or blame) for inventing Daylight Saving Time actually goes to New Zealand entomologist, George Hudson, who presented the idea in 1895.
Instead of adjusting the clocks at midnight, as might be expected, we officially change the time at 2 a.m. because of railroad schedules. When DST was introduced during World War I, it was one of the few times when there were no trains traveling on the tracks.
Today, most Americans spring forward (turn clocks ahead and lose an hour) on the second Sunday in March (at 2:00 A.M.) and fall back (turn clocks back and gain an hour) on the first Sunday in November (at 2:00 A.M.).
Those who benefit most from DST are the retailers, sporting goods makers, and other businesses that benefit from extra afternoon sunlight. Having more hours of sunlight in between the end of the typical workday and bedtime induces customers to shop and to participate in outdoor afternoon sports.
What do psychologists say about daylight savings time?
D., a professor in Metropolitan State University of Denver's Department of Psychological Sciences, said turning the clocks ahead can disrupt the body's natural cycles. “We use the daylight as the regulator of our circadian rhythm,” she said.
It may seem like a minor adjustment, but some people struggle with fatigue, irritability, and brain fog in the days following the transition. For others — especially night owls — the adjustment period can last for weeks.
Fatigue is no longer just a result of overwork; new, less obvious causes are emerging in the post-pandemic world amidst rapid lifestyle changes. Chronic tiredness now stems from a complex interplay of hidden medical conditions, psychological stressors, environmental factors, and modern habits.
How long does it take to recover from daylight savings?
Indira Gurubhagavatula, who specializes in sleep medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Gurubhagavatula told NPR via email that people usually feel back to normal after a week or so. But warned the time change sometimes triggers chronic sleep issues that persist for months.
Although we “gain” an extra hour of daylight, we also lose an hour of sleep if we are not prepared. Moving our clocks can disrupt our sleep patterns. In general, "losing" an hour in the Spring is more difficult to adjust to than "gaining" an hour in the Autumn when we move the clocks back one hour.
Your circadian rhythm is set by the timing and amount of bright light exposure a person gets during the day. “With DST, between March and November, your body is exposed to less morning light and more evening light, which can throw off your circadian rhythm,” states Dr.
Many people commonly associate the “fall back,” or end to DST that happens each November, with gaining an extra hour of sleep. On the other hand, people lose sleep during the “spring forward DST each March.
Not all states and U.S. territories participate in daylight saving time. Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) do not observe daylight saving time, and neither do the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
As of 2007, Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time (which becomes 3:00 a.m. local Daylight Saving Time).
Daylight saving time messes with sleep, but just for a bit: people lose about an hour of sleep on the Sunday when clocks spring forward and on the Sundays after that. However, they don't really get to enjoy the extra hour of sleep when clocks fall back.
History & info - Daylight Saving Time idea from Benjamin Franklin. The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called "Summer Time" in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
Arizona made the decision not to observe daylight saving time in 1968, according to the state library. The state made the decision based on the hotter temperatures and desert climate in Arizona, CBS affiliate KOLD reported. When the clocks spring forward, sunset is an hour later.
