---
title: Is daylight saving time over? Should it be?
description: The US might move to permanent daylight saving time, meaning no more time flip-flopping.
---

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# [Is daylight saving time over? Should it be?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/03182022-daylight-saving-time)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Mar 18, 2022 7:22:56 AM

On Tuesday, the Senate [passed](https://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/598409-explainer-what-would-a-permanent-daylight-saving-time-look-like) the Sunshine Protection Act, which, if cleared by the House and signed by President Biden, would make daylight saving time (DST) permanent by November 2023.

#### **Why the heck do we have DST anyhow?**

DST is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who [joked](https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/daylight-savings-time#:~:text=Daylight%20saving%20time%20is%20one,in%20the%20Journal%20de%20Paris.) that waking up with the sun could conserve candles and lamp oil.

But it was actually New Zealand-based astronomer and entomologist George Hudson who, in 1895, [proposed](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daylight-savings-time-history-george-vernon-hudson_n_1333378) changing the clocks for more daylight to study insects.

The US adopted DST in 1918 to conserve energy in WWI, then again in WWII, [per](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-happened-the-last-time-the-us-tried-to-make-daylight-saving-time-permanent-180979742/) *Smithsonian *magazine. Some states kept it, some didn’t, and in 1966, the Uniform Time Act established DST and standard time (ST) for the nation.

#### **There are several negatives to time flip-flopping**

- Research shows fatal accidents [increase](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11152980/), as [do](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-daylight-saving-time-increase-your-risk-of-stroke/) heart attacks and strokes.
- Sleepy workers who’ve lost an hour are more prone to [cyberloafing](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-04928-001) and [injuries](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/risk-management/pages/workplace-injuries-daylight-saving-time.aspx).
- “Falling back” has been [associated](https://www.realsimple.com/health/daylight-saving-time-health-risks) with spikes in depression.
- It’s [trickier](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-daylight-saving-time-holding-back-the-growth-international-business/) to sync up globally, as only some nations observe DST.

It ain’t cheap, either. One study estimated the economic cost of DST in the US at [**~$433.9m**](https://www.chmura.com/blog/2016/march/11/sleepbetter-lost-hour-economic-index).

In 2005, the Airport Transport Association [argued](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-22-daylight-congress_x.htm) that a 2-month extension of DST would cost the US airline industry **$147m** thanks to international confusion. (The US extended it anyhow.)

#### **Is DST the best time?**

Seventy percent of Americans want the clock to stay put, [per](https://apnews.com/article/in-state-wire-az-state-wire-wa-state-wire-or-state-wire-mo-state-wire-646ec1987f44402da127388f3e287c92) a 2019 poll. But 40% want permanent ST, while 31% are forever DST.

Permanent DST means more sun in the evening, which some say would be good for the economy (and barbecues).

But a PNC analyst [believes](https://www.pnc.com/en/about-pnc/topics/pnc-pov/economy/daylight-saving-time.html) only outdoor businesses would benefit — in the 1980s, golf businesses [claimed](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7779869) DST resulted in an extra $200m in profit per month, or ~$647m in today’s money.

#### **We tried year-round DST in 1974…**

… amid a national gas crisis, and found Americans hate dark winter mornings. (Studies also found we don’t actually use less energy.)

It’s ST that sleep experts [say](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/03/16/daylight-saving-bill-health-effects/) best matches our circadian rhythms, so it’s a possibility some may lobby for permanent ST instead.

Whatever the outcome, history shows we can always monkey with time again — for better or worse.

**Fun fact: **You know who loved the extension of DST? The candy industry, who [lobbied](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-22-daylight-congress_x.htm) to get that extra hour of daylight for trick-or-treating.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/03182022-daylight-saving-time)

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