Did you change your clock last night before you went to bed? Yeah, that’s still a thing. There may soon come a day when we no longer have to remember “spring forward, fall back.”
You may have heard that there’s a bill in Congress that would eliminate the time change. Back in March, the Senate approved the bill. It’s called the Sunshine Protection Act and it was unanimously approved which is amazing that they could all actually agree on something. Now the House has to approve it before it goes to the President for him to sign. So why haven’t they?
According to an article on thehill.com, “the measure has hit a brick wall in the House.”
“The main impediments dimming the legislation’s chances of passing appear to be fundamental disagreements over its language and a general consensus that other matter take precedence as the House grapples with high inflation, gun massacres and fending off judicial threats on issues such as abortion and marriage equality.”
I don’t necessarily disagree that there are more important issues in our country right now, but don’t you think this is ONE issue they could actually agree on? And when’s the last time THAT happened? The earliest it could be implemented would be November of 2023 but that’s only if they take it up this year and that’s not a certainty.
There are some things to consider. The article in The Hill points out that on December 21st, the shortest day of the year, the sun rises on the east coast at 7:16 a.m. Now if we eliminate the time change, turning our clocks back an hour, we would have an east coast sunrise at 8:16 a.m. Is that something you could deal with? Of course it means the children would be in the dark at the bus stop but I’m pretty sure that happens to some kids now, especially those with an early start. At the other end of the day, the sun sets on December 21st around 4:30 p.m. now so that would be a 5:30 p.m. sunset. Not as good as summertime when it’s light until 8:00 p.m. but much better than 4:30 p.m.
Some politicians have said it’s really not a partisan issue but more of a geographical one. While city dwellers may like it lighter later, those in farm country prefer it to get lighter earlier in the morning.
What we now experience in the fall and winter is actually called “Standard time.” Turning the clock ahead one hour was the change, it’s called “Daylight Saving Time”(and yes, it’s “saving” not “savings”. I know. I said it wrong for years too).
It’s actually an idea that was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784! It did not become a regular thing in the United States until 1966. It was a way to extend the daylight for an hour and, the thinking was, it would save energy because people wouldn’t have to turn their lights on until later. I’ve always thought that it balanced out because you had to use the lights earlier than normal but that’s just me.
On the whole I’m in favor of doing away with the time change in the fall. It will certainly take some getting used to with sunrise delayed until after 8 a.m. in December but then it starts getting earlier. I’m curious to see if there is a change in S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Some people call it the “winter blues” but there’s more to it than that.
According to a blog at sunwarrior.com:
The precise causes of SAD are still unclear; however, scientists have pinpointed a few likely causes that may influence SAD. Your biological clock or circadian rhythm may play a part in causing SAD. Due to the reduced levels of sunlight in fall and winter, the decrease in sunlight may actually disrupt your internal clock leading to bodily confusion and eventual feelings of depression.
I also like the fact that we will not be changing the clock in the spring anymore. That one always hit me like a brick back when I was doing morning radio. I always claimed it was like jet lag. My body got used to waking up at 4:15 a.m. (If you could ever get used to that.) However, after we turned the clocks ahead an hour, when the alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. my body thought it was 3:15 a.m. and it took about three days to adjust. Also, there have been a number of studies done that show car accidents and accidents at work increase in the days immediately after daylight saving. Why? I think it’s because everyone is a bit sleepy and our concentration is off.
Unfortunately I am not optimistic that this will happen soon. That same article in The Hill points out that it’s really not a big topic in the House and the time to strike would have been right after the Senate passed it in March. The momentum does not seem to be there and unless we all demand that our representatives act on this I don’t think it will be on their radar.
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