Is it the Twilight of Daylight Savings Time?

As we switch our clock backwards, the country still debates this traditon

On Nov. 7, most of the country will take part in Daylight Savings Time, in which the nation’s clocks go forward by an hour at 2 a.m in March, then go backward by an hour in November every year. This has been a tradition in Europe since around World War I, as an effort to save fuel, with the U.S. following suit shortly after. DST was originally unpopular with farmers since it meant less time to transport their goods to markets in the mornings. However, there was no consistent legislature until the 60s, when the lack of consistency made it challenging for the transportation industry to continue their jobs.

While DST was somewhat beneficial at a certain point in time, it has almost entirely lost its purpose. While there is a recent push for a permanent DST- the time change between March and November would simply extend through the whole year- Arizona and Hawaii still do not observe DST.

According to the Atlantic, health experts have claimed that there is no health benefit to changing the time twice a year. In fact, experts assert that people seem to sleep better during standard time, as bright light in the morning naturally wakes them up and night falling earlier puts them to sleep naturally. DST has also been linked to heart attacks and strokes, due to sleep loss.

This useless tradition is harming people over time. By changing the clocks twice a year, we are forcing our bodies into a form of jet lag and losing sleep. If there is no rational reason to continue this practice apart from tradition, why continue doing it? We should put an end to DST and leave standard time in place year round.