Summer is firmly in the rearview window, and the Sun is noticeably winding down earlier in the evening. On November 1, most of the United States and parts of Canada will change the clocks to ward off these later sunsets. Specifically, we’ll move back an hour and leave Daylight Saving Time for Standard Time, only to do the reverse come next spring. It’s a twice-yearly ritual that many people tolerate, but few enjoy.
A poll last year, from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that only 12% of Americans liked the current system of switching clocks twice a year, while 47% outright opposed it (40% were neutral). A different YouGov poll earlier this March found that 64% of U.S. adult citizens were in favor of abolishing the clock switch, while only 16% wanted to hold onto it. And most countries in the world no longer even bother with the time switch.
Things get a bit trickier when trying to figure out how to end this practice, though; that is, whether we should permanently enshrine DST or Standard Time.
Some researchers and organizations have long argued that permanent Standard Time would be better, citing numerous studies suggesting that the switch to DST can have noticeable, if subtle, negative effects on our health, particularly our sleep patterns. Yet lawmakers have often pushed for permanent DST instead. S. House of Representatives in July but has been stalled in the Senate ever since, following pushback from some Republican senators.
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