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The United States is one step closer to permanent daylight saving time. The US Senate voted unanimously to end the biennial clock.
Daylight saving time has just started in the US – a few weeks earlier than in the Netherlands – and the time change has apparently had a significant impact on US senators. Surprisingly and without much debate, they unanimously approved a law this week not to return to winter time from next year.
“Last weekend, Americans from Washington State to Florida lost an hour of sleep for no reason,” said Senator Patty Murray. “It’s a burden and a headache that we don’t need. Any parent who has done their best to get their baby or toddler on a regular sleep schedule understands the absolute chaos that changing clocks creates.
sad time
From November 2023, senators are seeking to maintain daylight saving time year-round, which would bring an extra hour of sunshine at the end of the day. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is already dreading the return of daylight saving time. “It’s a sad time. People are unhappy. It literally makes our lives darker. The sun sets in Rhode Island at quarter past four – quarter past four!”
The House of Representatives must now consider the bill, an initiative of representatives of both parties in Congress. “After a while you have to wonder why do we keep doing this?” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said. He cited research suggesting that more light leads to less crime, less depression and more playtime for children.
sleep scientists
About seven in ten Americans also want to get rid of the biannual ritual of changing the clock. But a large part would prefer to perpetuate winter time. Sleep scientists also say they are “disappointed” with the Senate plan. They also want to stop changing the clock, but argue that winter time is better suited to nature and the biological rhythm of man.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine fears an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic problems as the mornings darken and the evenings brighten. Morning light actually helps wake you up, dark evenings stimulate the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, which makes it easier to fall asleep. Incidentally, the United States also attempted to make daylight saving time permanent in 1974, but after much dissatisfaction and anger over school children killed on dark mornings, the clocks were turned back the following year.
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