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It’s been a few weeks since we “fell back” and regained the extra hour of sleep we lost in the spring. Many know the temporary shock of those on the East Coast (like this writer) and other portions of the country on the eastern end of their respective time zones who suddenly have to come home from work in the dark and wonder why 7:00 p.m. feels like midnight.
This hassle elicits complaints every time we do this exercise in March and November. These dates are relatively arbitrary but seem to have been most recently set to start Daylight Saving Time as the weather warms and close it out just after trick-or-treating on Halloween. “Spring forward, fall back” is now part of our lexicon and (somewhat ironically) seems to be as immovable as death and taxes.
It’s an issue that has vexed all of us for years, down to individual states that long ignored the shift and stayed on Standard Time because they were split between two time zones. Even states in a single time zone have tried to get into the act. In 2019, my home state of Delaware passed a bill to drop Daylight Saving Time if its surrounding states also adopted the Atlantic Time Zone, one hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. With no sunset date, the law is still in force if the other states want to do it.
While Congress tried to go the other direction in a recent session, President-elect Donald Trump has proposed we simply put an end to this business, calling it “very costly to our Nation,” and stay with Standard Time year-round. He’s also secured the backing of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is considering the move as a cost-cutting measure. The Wall Street Journal noted, “Both men have said the U.S. should stop changing its clocks twice a year, calling it inefficient and annoying for many Americans.”
Nate Jackson from our humble shop — which has the benefit of a reasonable sunrise and sunset time thanks to east Tennessee’s position on the western extreme of the Eastern Time Zone — has penned humorously tongue-in-cheek articles arguing vigorously in favor of both year-round Standard Time and full-time Daylight Saving Time. Just pick a side, right?
Weighing in on the side of Daylight Saving Time being permanent is a broad coalition of leisure interests, such as the golf industry that likes how after-work play is encouraged when the sun doesn’t set until 8:30 or 9:00 at night. There’s also the aspect of enjoying summer evenings outdoors after work with barbecues and games (when kids can be pushed out the door to play, that is.)
On the other hand, physicians’ groups, particularly those specializing in sleep disorders, would prefer to stay with standard time, noting that it’s more difficult to go to bed on time when the sun sets later and dinner and socializing stretch longer into the evenings. They claim that standard time fits naturally with our circadian rhythms. Back in 2023, The Wall Street Journal claimed, “A number of medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Neurology and the American College of Chest Physicians, have endorsed the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s 2020 position statement proposing to eradicate daylight saving in favor of year-round standard time.”
To be sure, there will be some extremes in certain areas: permanent DST would allow for a sunset after 10 p.m. in far northwestern North Dakota, but sunrise along the Maine coast on standard time would come before 4 a.m. Both extremes would pose a problem, hence the idea of switching time zones.
Any decision will anger some members of the public, whether golfers or morning people — or, if we stay the same, virtually everyone. Overall, I predict that Americans will be relieved about not having to yo-yo back and forth and adjust twice a year. Doing so in the name of efficiency may help keep people happy about the change.
