Sleep doctor reveals the brutal health downside of daylight saving time

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The Trump administration is taking another look at ending biannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time (DST), or the “summer clock,” permanent.

On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in a 48-1 vote, part of a largelybipartisan pushto end twice-yearly clock changes.

Although gaining extra winter evening daylight might seem like a win, health experts say permanent daylight saving time could disrupt people’s natural circadian rhythms.

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Wendy Troxel, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND based in Utah, said science is being “misconstrued” in this decision.

“Ending the biannual clock change is something most sleep scientists and the public would welcome,” she said.“The disruption of springing forward every March is associated with real, measurable harm — spikes in car crashes,heart attacksand sleep deprivation.”

Blonde woman sleeping peacefully on her side in bed resting on a green pillow

The Trump administration is taking another look at ending semiannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time, or the “summer clock,” permanent.(iStock)

However, Troxel noted, implementing permanent daylight saving time is “not supportedby science.” Instead, evidence “strongly supports” permanent standard time, or the “winter clock,” according to the expert.

Major sleep medicine organizations, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have previously supported adopting permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time.

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“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadianbiology, meaning the relationship between light, darkness and our internal clocks remains intact,” Troxel said.

“Permanent DST simply shifts an hour of morning sunlight to the evening, and there are significanthealth and safetycosts of that trade.”

Man turning off alarm clock in bed in bedroom apartment

“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadian biology,” the expert said.(iStock)

The U.S.attempted permanent DST in the early 1970s, but the plan was aborted in part due to these “morning consequences,” according to the sleep expert.

“Within a year, the law was repealed amid public displeasure with commuting to work and school in the dark and increases in morning car crashes, and with no demonstrable impact on energy savings,�

Why morning sunlight matters

Human circadian rhythms are primarily “anchored” bymorning light, Troxel said.Under permanent DST, most people waking up for work or school would be rising before the sun, which forces a “chronic misalignment between the body’s internal clock and the external world.”

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“You cannot override that biology by simply shifting external clocks forward,” the expert said.“What you get instead is a population that is effectively waking up in the middle of their biological night, every single day.”

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The public has typically supported having more daylight in winter evenings, which could alleviate mental health conditions such asseasonal depression.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that later evening daylight could encourage outdoor activity, recreation and consumer spending after work or school.

A teen boarding a school bus on a snowy country road.

Morning light is “crucial to regulate sleep, [boost] alertness and support mental health,” according to a sleep expert.(iStock)

Troxel agreed that light is a “powerful regulator” for sleep and moods, but noted that not all types have the same benefits.

“Morning light is crucial to regulate sleep, alertness and support mental health, and this would be sacrificed with permanent daylight saving time,” she noted.

In some areas of the country, like Utah, Americans wouldn’t see the sunrise until about 9 a.m.in the winter, which some research has linked to higherrates of depressionand seasonal mood challenges.

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“More evening light may feel enjoyable, in part because we equate it with lovely summer evenings, but permanent daylight saving time does not mean permanent summer,” Troxel emphasized.“It just means we will get less morning sunlight and more evening sunlight.”

“Exposure to light in the evening further pushes circadian rhythms later, making it more difficult to fall asleep and harder to wake up in the morning.”

Risks for vulnerable groups

Permanent daylight saving time can intensify people’s habit of “bedtime procrastination,” deepen sleep deprivation and contribute to the widespread public health issue of insufficient sleep already identified by the Institute of Medicine, according to Troxel.

Teenage girl checking time on smartphone in bed at night

Teens are most at risk of mental health complications if permanent DST extends darkness in the morning.(iStock)

Various studies have shown that people typically sleep less in summer compared to winter.Troxel said this is particularly concerning in a society where one in three people are already getting insufficient shuteye.

“This is especially alarming for teenagers, a population the U.S.surgeon general has identified as being in amental healthcrisis,” she cautioned.

For example, a teen waking up at 6:30 a.m.for an 8 a.m.school start time under permanent DST would be rising biologically at 5:30 a.m., Troxel noted, which is “in the middle of their biological night.”

“Framing permanent DST as a fix forseasonal depressiongets the science exactly backwards,” she added.

�s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.