Twice a year, people in the U.S. either gain or lose an hour of time in the name of daylight savings, leading to false time displays on appliances and thrown off sleep cycles. But is this inconvenient norm about to become a thing of the past?
“When we fall back an hour in the wintertime, our days get shorter and it can start getting dark around 4:00 p.m.,” says Anna Dearmon Kornick, certified time management coach and head of community at Clockwise, a workforce time management resource. “The lack of sunlight comes with seasonal affective disorder and less feelings of safety and comfort when commuting after work.”
Read more:
In fact, the two time changes can have life-threatening impacts on people’s physical and mental well-being. According to a study led by a cardiology fellow at the University of Colorado, there was a 25% increase in heart attacks on the Monday following the spring forward shift compared to other Mondays that year. However, there was a 21% drop in heart attacks the Tuesday after fall back, when people gained an hour of time. The researchers posited that the disruption of the sleep cycle, coupled with the stress of Mondays, triggered those at high risk for a heart attack, while gaining an hour of sleep proved at least slightly beneficial. But for Kornick, the root of the problem isn’t “spring forward” specifically as much as it is the act of shifting time by an hour.
“It is really mind-boggling to see that jump in time every year when we know there could be subsequent increases in car accidents and health incidents,” she says. “You would think after so many years of experiencing this change, that we would have done something about it.”
Read more:
Kornick notes that for every hour shifted, a person may need as long as a week to adjust to their routine again, especially if they have kids who are experiencing the time change, too. This translates to a hit in productivity for workers across the country. A study by Chmura Economics & Analytics estimated that DST costs the U.S. more than $430 million a year in lost productivity.
“When our internal clocks change, it affects our sleep as well as our ability to focus, collaborate and innovate,” says Kornick. “Companies waste millions of dollars due to what is essentially brain frog — the ROI just isn’t there.”
Daylight saving time was originally introduced as the Standard Time Act of 1918, in an effort to save resources needed for World War I and extend the workday. DST was thought to help businesses and factories conserve energy by providing more natural light for workers. In 2008, the Energy Department did find that DST saved 0.5% of electricity per day. By making DST permanent, the U.S. may see the benefits of longer days without the pitfalls of time shifts.
Read more:
In the last four years, 19 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Washington, Florida and California have enacted legislation or passed resolutions pushing for permanent DST nationwide. The recent decision by the Senate is a promising response, but the bill is now being stalled in the House of Representatives. Kornick does not find this surprising, since Congress has likely set the issue on the back burner as they face more pressing issues like the Ukrainian conflict and the need for COVID emergency funding. But she hopes to see the bill pass in the near future.
“Change is hard, and it’s very easy to say, ‘that’s the way it’s always been done,’” says Kornick. “But this change has the potential to benefit everyone and even out shifts in the public’s health and safety.”
If the Sunshine Protection Act doesn’t make it past the House, Kornick urges managers to have compassion for themselves and their team during DST transitions, whether that means being forgiving of those struggling to get up in the morning or pushing meetings back a few hours.
“Just remember that we are all human and experiencing this transition together,” Kornick says. “And if you have empathy, you will have a happier workplace.”
