Congress debates ending Daylight Saving Time
Senators are working around the clock on the issue of whether to end the twice-a-year time changes for Daylight Saving Time.
Fox – Seattle
Daylight saving time is upon us once again and according to some studies, the time change can have negative health impacts. Still, the act of changing our clocks twice a year persists.
On Sunday, March 8, clocks will “spring forward” one hour at 2 a.m., meaning most Americans will “lose” an hour of sleep.
The idea of daylight saving time dates back to more than a hundred years ago and was essentially devised to increase evening sunlight and conserve energy. The adjustment was formally adopted in World War I.
The practice was observed off and on in the following years. In 1966, the Uniform Time Act made daylight saving time a legal requirement, according to the Department of Transportation. The country began following the current March to November system in 2007.
Despite some attempts from Congress to end or adjust daylight saving time, the practice is still observed across the country except in Hawaii, most of Arizona, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa.
Here’s a look at some health impacts of daylight saving time – and why we still have it.
Negative health impacts of daylight saving time
According to John Hopkins University, the transition to change the clocks can lead to higher risks of heart attack and stroke.
Mood disturbances, hospital admissions and elevated production of inflammatory markers in response to stress can also stem from the change, the university reported.
Additionally, car crashes can become more likely. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, found that the risk of fatal accidents rises by 6% after the switch, according to a 2020 study.
Why is the transition associated with so many negative health impacts? According to Johns Hopkins, sunlight is the most powerful synchronizer of our circadian rhythms, or our internalized clocks.
Being exposed to light closer to bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep at our usual bedtime and can reduce the amount of sleep we get as a result, Adam P. Spira, a professor of mental health at the university, told the Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2023.
“We function best when our sleep-wake cycle follows the sun. We get sleepy, due in part to melatonin release, when it gets dark. In the spring, when we switch to daylight saving time, we increase the amount of light we’re exposed to in the evening hours,” he said.
How a lack of sleep can impact our health
A lack of sleep has long been shown to be bad for our health. It can lead to declines in cardiovascular health, increases in diabetes and obesity, poorer mental health and lower cognitive performance, according to Johns Hopkins.
Children heading to school in the dark morning hours and shift workers are most at risk, as are people living on the western edges of time zones, the university reported.
Why do we still observe daylight saving time? Will it change?
In recent years, politicians have tried to change the daylight saving law. In 2018, then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, introduced a bill to amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The legislation would have made daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time. The bill has been reintroduced several times since then without success.
Another more recent piece of legislation, the Daylight Act of 2026, seeks to “permanently adjust American time,” the bill reads. The bill, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, in early February, would move the US time zones forward 30 minutes and leave them there permanently.
President Donald Trump has not made any recent remarks about definitively ending the time swap. However, in March 2025 he said, “If something’s a 50-50 issue, it’s hard to get excited about it.
“I assume people would like to have more light later, but some people want to have more light earlier, because they don’t want to take their kids to school in the dark … It’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way, and a lot of people like it the other way.”
A month later, Trump took to X to “push hard for more daylight at the end of a day.”
Tips for adjusting to daylight saving time
As of now, most Americans still have to change their clocks come Sunday. But the American Academy of Sleep Medicine offers tips to prepare for daylight saving time on its website. They include:
- Gradually adjusting your sleep and wake times by shifting your bedtime 15 to 20 minutes earlier each night before the change.
- Setting clocks ahead one hour on Saturday, March 7, then going to bed at a regular time.
- Heading outside for early morning sunlight on Sunday, March 8, as exposure to sunlight can help regulate a new morning routine.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]
