What if daylight saving time becomes permanent?

Yesterday we set our clocks back 1 hour as we switched from daylight saving time to standard time. There’s still a lot of confusion around this bi-annual switch though - will we continue to see this time change each year or will we be seeing an end to the “fall back, spring forward” routine soon?

Last year, the Sunshine Protection Act which would keep us in daylight saving time year-round picked up momentum in Congress after being introduced each year since 2018. The bill was passed without any opposition in the Senate in March 2022, but failed to pass in the House of Representatives. It wasn’t voted down but was pushed off and eventually expired at the end of the year.

Since then, there hasn’t been any progress with the Sunshine Protection Act.

So, to answer the question “is daylight saving time becoming permanent?” - we don’t know and won’t know until the act gathers support and has its day in congress again.

But what if the bill was passed and daylight saving time stuck around all year long? Much like everything else, there are pros and cons to keeping with DST.

With sunsets happening later, we would have more opportunity to get outside after work or school, promoting a more active lifestyle. Later sunsets also tend to help the economy with people’s social lives becoming more active as well. More light later in the day has also been found to promote safety, lowering the amount of crime and car accidents.

On the other hand, daylight saving time has its downsides too.

Doctors say that DST is bad for our health as the later sunrises and sunsets don’t align with our circadian rhythm, resulting in less sleep and worse quality sleep. Having more light earlier in the morning like we do with standard time helps our bodies to stop producing melatonin, making it easier to wake up. Additionally, with less sleep, work productivity drops.

With the Sunshine Protection Act still sitting idle in Congress, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of permanent daylight saving time won’t have much real-life application anytime soon.