Q&A – Daylight-Saving Time vs. Permanent Standard Time
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s Entry: Hello Brian, I was listening to your report on the latest status of daylight savings time. I think it will eventually happen where we no longer have to change the time if congress would get on board with this. However, has anyone considered the pros and cons of Standard time all year round vs Daylight savings? In Florida, daylight savings sounds nice, but being from Michigan I can tell you that in December the sun didn’t rise until 9 a.m. when they tried daylight savings all year round in 1974. So yes, switching back and forth is unnecessary, but standard time would be more beneficial. There may be health benefits as well. Thank you for your time.
Bottom Line: Your lips to God’s ears that we will eventually get the Sunshine Protection Act passed. Florida’s Senator’s Scott and Rubio both have used the occasion of this weekend’s time change to attempt to gain some much-needed traction in congress to get the proposal passed that would permanently leave Florida in DST. But while we wait, we watch, and we see what will be (if anything) this year legislatively with the Act...I’m happy to address the Standard vs. Daylight Saving Time conversation once again. It’s one I’m frequently asked about when we annually discuss this topic.
Permanent Standard Time is the most common form of time in the world with 60% of countries on that system of time. Does that mean it’s better? It depends on what your consideration is. Something every study of sleep experts I’ve ever seen has suggested is that we should stop time changes. Likewise, virtually all studies from sleep experts suggest we should adopt permanent Standard Time instead of DST. Why? While the amount of actual daylight and darkness is static, regardless of what timetable we adopt, what isn’t is what regulates our Circadian Rhythm, or body clock. It’s predominantly regulated by sunrise instead of sunset. That means a time schedule which prioritizes sunlight earlier in the day is theoretically better than one which prioritizes it later in the day. So, if maximizing sleep is our society’s top priority than yes, Standard Time is better. Then there’s the PTA argument which centers around school children standing at school bus stops in the dark more often during the year.
There are a lot of ways I could address the point, but I’ll use Florida as a guide. If we were to choose permanent Standard Time the earliest sunrise would be 5:32 in the Summer. If we were to choose permanent DST, the latest sunrise would be right at 8:00 in the winter. On a personal note, at the extremes you can ask yourself. Would you rather have the sunrise at 5:30 or 8:00? Is this the best path forward?
Now that I’ve established the case for Standard Time, how about weighing those potential benefits against those for permanent Daylight Saving Time. Once again here are those: A 2017 study by JPMorgan suggested Florida’s economy losses between $12 to $26 billion annually due to the change. Using Morgan’s data from seven years ago I’ve calculated that to equal $15 billion to $32 billion annually today. It’s an economic case. I'll not make this complicated because it’s easily understood. Are you more likely to stay out and enjoy life in the summer when the days are longer or in the winter when the days are shorter? Thus, favoring a schedule which prioritizes sunlight later in the day provides an economic stimulus effect – an effect which is especially strong in a state like ours which thrives on tourists and visitors. So, on the surface the case for DST vs Standard time is an economic one vs a potentially health/public safety driven one. But it’s not that easy.
Ask yourself. When do you tend to feel the best and are happiest? In the winter with short days or summer with long ones? Then ask yourself what the long-term mental health impact might be of prioritizing a clock which errors on the side of shorter days (unless most people suddenly start waking up at 5:30). That mitigates the perceived health benefit. Sleep schedules might theoretically be better with Standard Time, but mental health isn’t. Relative to the often-expressed concern with children at bus stops... in Florida the average time school starts across all grade levels is now 8:14. If we’re adjusting time, why wouldn’t it also be possible to slightly adjust school start times if this is a critical concern? Incidentally this is something that just happened this school year in Florida due to a new law stating high schools may not begin classes before 8:30 anyway – that's due to studies demonstrating children learn better with later start times. Yes, parents with specific work schedules might have a new challenging consideration, but then again there’s always going to be inconvenience to some people when choosing a lane. A low single-digit percentage of people would be inconvenienced compared to one, which at some level, impacts every Floridian otherwise. From where I sit. I’d take either if it meant stopping time changes. But yes, the case for DST is generally stronger, especially for Florida.