Hey there! Did you know that the United States has been changing its clocks for more than 100 years? It’s a thing called daylight saving time (DST). But guess what? Some people are saying it might be time to stop doing that. Let’s take a closer look at what could happen if America decided not to change its clocks anymore.
The U.S senate has also once passed an act, “The Sunshine Protection Act” to keep daylight saving time permanent. However, the bill got stalled, and Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced it to the House as he believed the practice is “antiquated.”
There are back-and-forth arguments about this. A study by the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms identified that there could be more advantages to making the standard time permanent.
Keeping People Healthy:
Changing clocks can mess up our bodies. But if we stop doing it, fewer people might have heart attacks and strokes. When our sleep schedule suddenly changes, our risk for these health issues goes up. If we stick to one time, that risk might go down.
A Michigan study identified that heart attacks have gone up by 24% with the spring switch. Another Finnish study also reported an increase in ischemic strokes by 8% just 2 days after the spring switch.
“We don’t really know the specific reason for increases in heart disease and stroke during the daylight saving time change, but it likely has something to do with the disruption to the body’s internal clock or its circadian rhythm,” says the president of the American Heart Association, Donald Lloyd-Jones.
Getting More Sleep and Sunlight:
Humans are guided by their circadian rhythms or 24-hour cycles that control sleep and other body functions. Even though an hour adjustment is not going to result in a huge change, it can still affect sleep. Some experts believe that this transition between standard time and DST can result in sleep loss. Sleep loss or sleep debt is then followed by mood disorders, heart problems, and even vehicle accidents.
Imagine this: in the fall, you’d get an extra hour of sleep. And in the spring, you’d have an extra hour of daylight. Cool, right? This could actually help you be more awake and do better at school or other things.
Thinking About the Problems:
However, stopping the clock change might cause some problems. Some people’s sleep might get messed up. And talking to people in other countries might get a bit tricky if they still change their clocks.
Conclusion:
Deciding whether to stop changing our clocks isn’t easy. There are good things and not-so-good things to think about. But guess what? It’s up to all of us to figure out what we want to do.
If you’re curious about what could happen if we stop daylight saving time, you can look up more about it. There are lots of studies that talk about the good and not-so-good sides of it. What do you think? Should America stop changing its clocks? Share your thoughts!
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