Just recently Californians suffered again through the switch to daylight saving time. Although in 2018, 60% of California voters supported Proposition 7, which would give lawmakers the power to end the switching of the clocks, the gears of government are working slowly. The California legislature plans to adopt daylight saving time permanently (ST 0 – 1 DS). However, this will require congressional approval. A bill introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate, called the Sunshine Protection Act, would make daylight saving time permanent. The Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act on March 16 (ST 0 – 2 DS). The House of Representatives must still pass the bill before it can go to President Joe Biden to sign.
The biannual switching of time leads to sleep disturbance and effects people in many ways, some as serious as heart attacks and fatal automobile accidents. Plus, people simply don’t like it. But what about daylight saving versus standard time? Generally, sleep experts think that standard time is more beneficial to human health than daylight saving time. Business prefers daylight saving because longer days result in more trips to the store. An informal inquiry among friends and colleagues suggests that people are about 50/50 in their personal preference, with a few saying they really don’t care, just settle for one option, and stop switching. And we did not find a single person who said they would prefer to stay with the status quo. In that spirit, let’s hope the Sunshine Protection Act gets approved and no more switching after November 2023.