Taking to “heart” the proposed legislation for permanent daylight saving time

Abstract

In March 2022, the United States Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act that would abolish the biannual change in clocks each fall and spring, and permanently adopt daylight saving time that aligns with the 'spring forward' time change each March. A number of scientific and medical societies have endorsed the abolishment of the biannual clock change, but oppose the permanent adoption of daylight saving time. Instead, leading organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) position statements highlight peer-reviewed evidence in favor of a permanent shift to standard time. The present perspectives will summarize some of the key AASM and SRBR recommendations, with a particular focus on the potential cardiovascular implications of a legislative change that would result in a permanent switch to either standard time or daylight saving time. Collectively, while there is building scientific consensus that abolishing the biannual time change has several sleep and circadian health benefits, the preponderance of evidence is opposite to the current legislation - and instead suggests a permanent switch to standard time may offer the maximum health and safety benefits. This scientific evidence should be considered as the United States House of Representatives considers the Sunshine Protection Act.

Sample size bias in the empirical assessment of the acute risks associated with daylight saving time transitions

“…Among other points, Rubio alleged that DST transitions caused 28 fatal motor vehicle accidents, a highlight from Fritz et al (2020). Much to the dismay of authors' study and many others (Carter et al 2022;Roenneberg et al 2019), Rubio vowed for locking the clock in the DST setting -that is, making DST the new perennial Standard Time -even though the study also showed that the risks of fatal accidents doubled after DST spring transition was advanced 3 weeks in the US after the Energy Policy Act (Martín-Olalla 2020). Note that the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 would effectively advance DST "spring transition" by 10 weeks and delay DST "autumn transition" by 8 weeks to cancel out both.…”

The controversy over daylight saving time: evidence for and against

“…This leaves jurisdictions with the need to decide on which permanent time to adopt. Although most jurisdictions are considering pDST, sleep and circadian experts generally [15 ▪ ,37 ▪ ,38,39], but not exclusively [40] advocate for pST. The advocacy for pST emerges from an understanding that the circadian system requires natural sunlight to set its phase [41].…”