How America’s Annual ‘Spring Forward’ Is Bad For Your Health

Topline

Most people in the United States will lose an hour this weekend as clocks “spring forward” into Daylight Saving Time, part of a disruptive biannual shift experts warn is actively harmful for our health and wellbeing and U.S. lawmakers are trying to do away with for good.

There are a host of negative health effects linked to the clocks changing.

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Key Facts

The average American loses 40 minutes of sleep the night after Daylight Saving Time begins, research suggests, incurring a sleep debt that does not appear to be recovered when the clocks “fall back” in fall.

As well as immediately interrupting sleep schedules, the one-hour shift also disrupts the body’s natural rhythm by changing the amount of light we are exposed to in mornings and evenings, cues which help set the body’s internal clock.

In the days following the spring forward, fatal car crashes spike, as do emergency room visits, heart attacks, strokes and missed medical appointments.

Long term, research suggests the twice-yearly clock change can exacerbate existing health problems—notably mood disorders like depression, bipolar and anxiety, which can be sensitive to sleep disruptions—and increase the risk of conditions like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.

Chief Critic

Sleep experts strongly oppose the twice-yearly change. When outlining its position in 2020, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine said Daylight Saving Time can throw the body’s internal clock out of sync with the clock of its environment. This has “significant health and public safety-related consequences,” the group said, “especially in the days immediately following the annual change.” Since outlining its stance, the group’s position has been endorsed by other expert bodies and groups, including the American Medical Association, the World Sleep Society and the National Safety Council.

News Peg

Across most of the U.S. this Sunday, clocks will spring forward an hour and shift into Daylight Saving Time. Reports point to numerous possible origins for the concept and historically the idea of changing the clocks twice a year, forward in spring and back in fall, was to make better use of daylight and save energy. It has been enshrined in federal law for decades and though states can opt out, only Hawaii and Arizona (excepting lands of the Navajo Nation) have done so. Polling suggests Americans loathe the tradition. Polls also indicate little agreement on what system should be used instead.

What To Watch For

In a rare display of unity, the Senate unanimously voted to end the twice-yearly tradition in favor of making Daylight Saving Time permanent last year. The bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, floundered in the House of Representatives, reportedly due to disagreements among lawmakers over what system to use permanently. A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the bill in March. According to Reuters, about 30 states have introduced legislation to end the twice-yearly change, though some only propose doing so if neighboring states do as well.

Contra

While supportive of efforts to permanently use one time system, sleep experts have pushed back against efforts to institute permanent Daylight Saving Time. While there are negative consequences to switching the clocks either way, the society noted research showing these tend to be worse and more durable when switching to Daylight Saving Time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine wrote: “A change to permanent standard time is best aligned with human circadian biology and has the potential to produce beneficial effects for public health and safety.”

Surprising Fact

The U.S. actually experimented with permanent Daylight Saving Time in 1974. It proved to be so wildly unpopular—dark mornings were reportedly a major source of discontent—the scheme was abandoned after its first winter.