- Experts have called for the end of time changes throughout the year, due to supposed risks to mental health
- Two states won’t turn the clocks back on November 5 while a further 29 are considering stopping it
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Getting an extra hour in bed when daylight saving time (DST) ends this weekend might seem like a win, but there can be negative effects on our health.
The clocks will ‘fall back’ an hour on November 5 at 2am, and clocks will not come forward again until March 10.
This means it’ll get darker earlier – and we’ll lose an hour of natural light from our evenings. But experts say this may result in increased depression, bipolar and anxiety.
Physician and author Dr Jacob Teitelbaum said: ‘Driving to work and school when it is still dark outside – because of the fall shift – is associated with increased accidents and poor functioning. Also, with increased usage of psychoactive substances among men aged 20 and older.’
Other experts and campaigners are calling for an end to daylight saving – and say we should have the same time all year round.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, changes in time zones is linked to to an ‘increased risk of heart attacks, mood disturbances, stroke and increased production of inflammatory markers – the markers are one of the body’s responses to stress’.
This is because messing with the time distrupts the body’s internal clock – or circadian rhythm – which regulates essential processes in the body, such as the release of hormones, and the functioning of organs like the heart.
As concern about the health harms grow, increasing states are fighting for a fixed time.
Two states – Arizona and Hawaii – already have one time zone, which remains as it is throughout the year.
This is because the states are close to the equator, meaning they get adequate daylight and heat all year round and there is less change between the seasons.
But 29 states could be headed in the same direction soon, as they are considering legislation to secure a time that remains the same all-year round.
The states – which include Kentucky, Delaware and others (see below) – want to switch to permanent daylight saving time (meaning their clocks would not fall back an hour).
Congress was supposed to do away with DST, the practice of advancing clocks during the warmer months so that darkness will fall at a later clock time, but it never made its way to a full vote.
DST always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November for the US. In the UK and Europe, it begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October.
Most of North America and Europe follow the custom, while the majority of countries elsewhere, especially those close to the equator, do not.
Clock-changing came about in the US in 1918 and UK after World War One as part of efforts to conserve fuel.
In 2023, at least 29 states considered or are considering legislation related to DST.
But none of the laws can actually take effect without Congressional approval, or their neighboring states enacting similar legislation.
The US standardized the practice in 1966 in the Uniform Time Act, which allows states to opt out of it, but not stay on daylight saving time permanently.
Arizona opted out in 1968 because of its West Coast location, meaning the state receives plenty of daylight and heat year-round.
By ignoring DST, it helps keep temperatures down during waking hours, cuts back on energy usage and puts bedtimes in line with the light outside.
The Navajo Nation, which covers a large part of northeastern Arizona, still switches its clocks twice a year, because it extends into Utah and New Mexico, which do still abide by DST rules.
Hawaii got rid of the Uniform Time Act a year before Arizona, in 1967, because of its closeness to the equator.
The sun rises and sets around the same time each day in Hawaii, which makes the concept of springing forward and falling back redundant.
Instead, Arizona and Hawaii shift time zones. Arizona will change from Mountain Time to Pacific Time when the rest of the US puts its clocks forward on March 12 2024, and Hawaii moves from six hours behind Eastern Time to five hours behind.
And research seems to suggest these outlier states benefit from better mental health.
Mental health clinic CertaPet conducted an analysis to find out which states were worst affected by seasonal affective disorders – a mood disorder characterized by depression which occurs at the same time every year, typically in the winter.
According to the data, Hawaii was named the state least susceptible to seasonal depression. The percentage of time between sunrise and sunset in the state is 65 percent, even in the winter months, which tops the US average of 49 percent.
Arizona came in as the fourth least susceptible to seasonally depressed state, behind Missouri and Florida.
At the other end of the scale, Ohio came in second for the states most susceptible to seasonal affective disorders, and had the highest search volume for the term ‘seasonal depression’ out of all 50 states.
Some 19 states have passed legislation to permanently use DST if Congress were to allow it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. These are: Colorado, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Florida.
Americans are divided on the issue. A March 2023 YouGov poll found that 62 percent of Americans want to end the practice of changing clocks, though only 50 percent preferred to keep permanent daylight saving time.
Supporters say the extra daylight hours in the summer are good for mental health and gives people more time to enjoy the good weather.
But those opposed say the clock switches can be tough on the general population, especially shift workers, leading to mistakes on the job, aggravated mood swings and anxiety, depression, and even increased heart attacks.
Those against it say we would be better if we stayed in line with our normal circadian rhythms, which follow the sun.