I love most things about Fall: colorful leaves and picking pumpkins. Something I don’t love: Setting our clocks back at the end of daylight saving time. I realize we “gain” an extra hour of sleep (well, those of us without small children); however, research shows that most of us actually lose sleep when we “fall back.
” Daylight saving time began as a way to reduce use of electricity in the early 1900s, and is now criticized due to its impact on public health and safety. In 2020, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine released a statement in support of a national fixed year-round standard time, which “aligns best with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits for public health and safety.” Research has shown that the transition from standard time to daylight saving time includes “increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes.
” The misalignment with our bodies’ internal clocks has been associated with “increased cardiovascular disease risk, metabolic syndrome, and other health risks,” according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. So much so that the Senate has proposed doing away with daylight saving time altogether with its Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The bill, however, did not pass in the House.
When does daylight saving time 2024 end? Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 3, 2024, when we set back our clocks b.
