Why permanent daylight saving time may be better for your health as Congress revisits clock change

After more than a century, is it time to ditch springing forward and falling back — and finally “lock the clock”?This week, the House of Representatives passed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would make daylight saving time (DST) — the time we use in the summer — permanent, meaning no more twice-a-year clock changes.Beyond doing away with the annoyance of reprogramming the time on your microwave every March and November, this would mean the sun rises one hour later in the winter — and sets one hour later in the evening.Making DST permanent is something experts say will eliminate the harsh effects of sleep disruption associated with changing the clocks.The bipartisan bill will now head to the Senate floor, where things look a bit more doubtful.Senators including Tom Cotton of Arkansas point to 1974, when permanent daylight savings time was enacted.

“Millions of Americans traveled to work and school in darkness.Commuter trains were delayed.

Schoolchildren carried flashlights,” he said.“Tragically, some of these kids were struck by cars and killed while walking to school in the dark.”But outspoken supporters of the bill, including President Trump, say permanent DST would do the opposite — prevent traffic accidents, while increasing productivity and even lower crime.Daylight saving time does have huge effects on our bodies.

Here’s what to know.Research from 2020 found that the fall-back hour was connected to a 6% increase in car wrecks overall with a 15% rise in freeway crashes, 9% of non-intersection crashes, 28% for nighttime crashes (28%) and single-vehicle crashes respectively, and crashes in urban areas also rose by 12%.“The scientific evidence points to acute increases in adverse health consequences from changing the clocks, including in heart attack and stroke,” said Johns Hopkins sleep expert Adam Spira. “The consequences of insufficient sleep include decreases in cardiovascular health, increases in diabetes and obe...