For over a century, Americans have adjusted their clocks twice a year in the name of energy efficiency and practicality. Now, the practice is under fire, with growing criticism from health experts, lawmakers, and even prominent voices like Elon Musk. As the nation grapples with the future of daylight saving time (DST), a significant shift may be on the horizon.
State-led Efforts to End Time Changes
Several states, including New Jersey and Washington, are taking steps to end the biannual clock changes, though their strategies differ. In New Jersey, lawmakers are reviewing Senate Bill S1510, which proposes making daylight saving time permanent.
If passed, this measure would grant residents longer evenings with daylight, but it hinges on approval from Congress—a significant hurdle. Meanwhile, Washington is pursuing a different path. State Senator Jeff Wilson has introduced Senate Bill 5001, which seeks to establish permanent standard time, a move that bypasses federal involvement.
This isn’t Washington’s first attempt to tackle the issue. In 2019, the state passed a law to adopt permanent daylight saving time. However, without Congressional action, the law remains dormant. Wilson now hopes the simpler approach of adopting permanent standard time will gain traction, allowing the state to eliminate the clock changes altogether.
Health and Societal Impacts of Time Changes
The twice-a-year time shifts have long been a point of contention, with mounting evidence that they harm public health and safety. Dr. Adam Spira, a sleep expert, has noted that these adjustments disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, leading to numerous negative effects:
- Sleep disturbances: Increased fatigue and difficulty adapting to the new schedule.
- Health risks: A spike in heart attacks and strokes following the time change.
- Safety concerns: A rise in traffic accidents and workplace injuries immediately after the shift.
Beyond individual health, the economic costs are also significant. According to the Association of Washington Business, the disruptions caused by time changes cost the U.S. economy approximately $340 million annually.
Elon Musk Joins the Debate: The End of an ‘Annoying’ Tradition?
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently reignited public interest in daylight saving time with a post on his platform, X. “Looks like people want to abolish the annoying time changes!” he tweeted. Musk’s influence, particularly as co-chair of a federal advisory panel under the Trump administration, could play a role in advancing the discussion.
However, the idea of permanently ending time changes is not new. In 1974, the U.S. experimented with adopting permanent daylight saving time in response to the energy crisis. The result was a wave of public dissatisfaction, fueled by concerns over children walking to school in the dark. The New York Times even described the experience as a “new Dark Age.” Public backlash eventually led to the repeal of the policy.
The Path Forward: What Are the Options?
To simplify the debate, here are the primary options being considered:
| Option | Benefits | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent standard time | Aligns with natural circadian rhythms | Shorter daylight hours in the evening |
| Permanent daylight saving time | Longer daylight in the evening, improved mood | Increased health risks, dark mornings |
| Status quo | Established routine | Continued health and economic costs |
Both options for eliminating clock changes—whether by adopting permanent standard time or permanent daylight saving time—have passionate advocates and vocal detractors. The challenge lies in finding a solution that balances health, safety, and societal needs.
A Decision Which Depends on Congress
Despite state-level initiatives, the ultimate decision rests with Congress. While more than 20 states have passed laws supporting permanent daylight saving time, none can implement the change without federal approval. The lack of consensus among lawmakers, coupled with the need to address regional disparities, has stalled progress on this issue.
Daylight saving time has become a deeply entrenched tradition, but its relevance is being questioned more than ever. As states push for reform and public opinion shifts, the future of timekeeping in the United States hangs in the balance. Whether Congress will act to bring an end to this long-standing debate remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the clock is ticking.
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🤣🤣 BULL SHIT!! the rinw changes doesnt do anything to me! FAKE NEWS!
Daylight S. Time definitely affects my health negatively. I stay totally fatigued the entire time it is in effect. Kids need to be inside before sunset at 10 p.m. GET RID OF IT PERMANENTLY!
If you are going to change it, make it permanent day light savings time. Washington State absolutely needs this. We don’t get enough sunshine, just gray and gloomy. We need the extra time to enjoy the sunshine. It would be detrimental to our well-being to go back to standard time permanently
I want to keep daylight saving time after all who wants dark at 5:00 PM in the evening I hate this old slow time Eastern Standard Time make daylight saving time permanent
I definitely do not like the time change in the winter. I’d rather have longer days year round. I hate it when it gets dark so early and my grandchildren have to walk in the dark to school.
Change it I think it hurts everyone
Yes, please get rid of it. These long dark days are not necessary.
More sunshine would be welcome.
I would love to see daylight longer in the evening
Congress needs to learn that they are not gods. Noon is noon. It is the time of day that the sun is directly overhead in your time zone. Congress cannot legislate that the sun is overhead at 1:00 PM. People are smart enough to vary their schedules according to the daylight available. They don’t need the government to do it for them. Keep your hands out of my pocket and off of my clock!
Why does a permanent time change have to be a full hour? Measuring time in hours and minutes, is a conceptual human construct. It does help keep everyone on [basically] the same daily schedule, but for the past decade, I have advocated advancing clocks by 30 minutes at the end of “standard time”, and keeping it that way.
It’s literally science people. Daylight Saving Time is artificial and bad for our health. All actual scientific studies on wellness favor permanent Standard Time. End the nonsense of Daylight Saving and be done. It’s already light much later in the summer without fake time.
Can’t we have our schools starting at a time when it is light outside? I live in Washington state and we certainly feel the depression set it, when we are forced to set our clocks back an hour. Not only is it gloomy but add in the darkest at 430 and the sense that you should be home and in bed, not to mention the health issues it brings with it.
I have fussed about this for YEARS!! It definitely needs to stop, one way or another. Personally, I don’t like it turning dark before 5 o’clock but….i could live with either way as long as we’re not being jerked around twice a year.
I hate Daylight Savings Time. My kids and I need our rest. I have to get up early every morning for work, and don’t want it light at 10:00 pm like it in the summer. Get rid of it!
Would like it to stay day light longer so working people can do more after work
It needs to stay the way it is. Also, I really hope everyone talking about how bad the weather is in their states know that even if dst does change the weather in your state won’t. The sun isn’t going to stay out longer and the coulds aren’t going to start parting just because you stop having to adjust your clocks twice a year.
I can remember waiting for the school bus in the dark and it was frightening. Was always happy when the time changed. So many changes all at once! I guess kids may not even have a public school to go to? I have questions? If your child goes to a school out of their district, Will a bus pick them up? Or will school districts also be done away with? I feel sorry for the kids.
Please stay on DST. Parents have been charged with child abuse having their kids walking to school in several states. Congress is worthless. They are more concerned with having one trangender congresswoman using the female bathroom than doing real work.
I don’t want my kids going to school in pitch black in the morning, which will happen all winter if daylight savings time doesn’t end. It’s dangerous and I guarantee there will be auto/pedestrian accidents. For safety reasons, we need to go with standard time if either is made permanent.
Standard time is called “standard” for a reason. It’s the closest we come in our time zones to the real, actual time – which is most closely aligned to our internal clocks and is the healthiest for us as humans. Everyone needs to stop whining about the early sunsets. It’s only for a few months. Stop acting like you’re incapable of leaving your house or accomplishing anything after dark. And leave the standard time year round as it should be.
Everyone advocating for permanent Daylight Saving Time needs to read a history book. We already tried this, back in the seventies, and it was a colossal failure. Kids were getting hit by cars walking to school in the dark. Drivers were groggy and inattentive on their morning commutes and causing more accidents, because our bodies are actually designed to wake up with the sun. And it didn’t “save” anything. Energy consumption actually increased. Only the government is dumb enough to take a bad idea thatbwas already unsuccessful once, and consider implementing it again.
Standard time, then we won’t lose sleep come Spring
To be honest I hate the time change in the winter..I prefer the time change in the spring..We have more daylight..
Leave Daylight Savings time. I hate it getting dark so early with Standard Time.
I don’t understand why someone gets a wild hair, and thinks they can come in and start making up there own rules. Leave things how they are.
Make it daylight savings time for our health. Getting far at 4:40 sucks.
Id take the status quo over permanent standard time. I like long evenings. I dont care what the sky looks like before or during work
The daylight time in the winter would be much shorter than summer no matter what time we judge it by. This time of year it would still be dark by 5:00. Why not make school start a bit later as well. Kids should not be required to be in school at 7:30am.
My kids are depressed because it gets dark at 5:00 and they can’t be outside playing versus having to be in the house with nothing to do but watch t.v. (after homework), electric bill goes up because more light usage, working people usually get home at dusk and therefore can’t do any outside work in daylight. Lots of disadvantages of it getting dark early, hate it.
I would like for daylight saving time to stay so our children can have more daylight to play outside because if it gets dark early they have to stay inside and that will cause problems with children that they are confined t nothing but walls they need to get out and run around
I live in Washington State and I want DST to stay permanent , the children are going to school in
the dark right now anyway. I don’t like the dark gloomy weather all winter.
I hate having it dark after 5 pm . It changes your mood and gives me anxiety. I get a lot more work done when there is more sunlight. Having it dark outside longer keeps up a lot of crime, People like to be sneaky in the dark , Changes the clocks back in the winter , Gives people seasonal disorders. I thought about moving to Arizona where they don’t have to deal with crap.
I think they need to leave it DST. When people get off at 5 and don’t get home until 6 it dark when they are leaving work at 5 and you can’t get anything done in the yard because it’s dark. You can also change the times the kids are going to school. Some of the kids aren’t getting off the busses until 5 here and it’s already dark. So they are getting on and off the busses in the dark. Please bring back DST and leave it that way! I hate that it gets dark so early!
Okay…where are all the people who were screaming “believe science!” a few years ago? This is no different…read any study on this and you’ll find that Daylight Savings, as it is now, or permanently, is BAD for our bodies. We’re running on a clock that doesn’t align with our bodies’ natural rhythms and tendencies. And, we tried this (permanent Daylight Savings) before. It didn’t work. And it shouldn’t be done again. Leave the clocks alone at standard time!
Standard time is the real time. Stop messing with the clocks and leave the time as it’s meant to be. Believe it or not, studies show it’s healthier for us. Yeah, it gets dark pretty early a few months of the year. I don’t know if you know this…but you can actually still go outside after work, in the dark. Been doing it since I was a kid. I even “gasp” turn on my porch light and shovel after dark. Ive even gone grocery shopping too. Hasn’t killed me yet, but the lost sleep in the springtime has definitely tried to.
We’ve outsmarted a lot of the ‘time complainers.’ We were self-employed and simply adjusted our daytime hours as necessary to use our time to our advantage instead of whining about the government based time schedule.
You can’t change it once & say it doesn’t work! Give people time. After a couple of years people will become acclimated to it! Just like Washington with the rain etc…our state stays winter or cold about 7 to 8 months a year. October Halloween freezing cold. My B-day in mid April still snow on the ground. On top of that you want it to be dark out at 4pm? In our state it drasticly increases the suicide rate and as someone else said, even the kids are depressed. It makes me depressed & suicidal! I start getting anxiety when I know it’s getting close!! Someone else also said what I also know. The crime rate goes way up! I would literally pay money to have the daylight hrs. to be longer! Not to mention it adds problems for children and adults, with obesity. Bored, dark nothing to keep ya busy but snacks & T.V. My grandma drove until she was 90! She just decided to quit. She loves bingo. She couldn’t go to bingo because it was dark when she left & dark when she came home! Not to mention the lower amout of vitamin D from the sun causes more sickness, and no the vitamins don’t give it to you like the actual sun!!
Yall do realize that changing the time wont change the weather and the way the orbit is right? yall asking for 1 hour back and yea they can change the clocks and all the time but how can they change the weather? unless the gov actually does control the weather🤔
Get rid of it ..yesterday! I think we have enough maturity to handle either dark mornings or evenings. Here’s an idea – turn on the lights! BTW I drove a school bus for a time, and my first morning run was in the dark – and guess what happened? Nothing! Amazing, isn’t it?
Let the people vote on it I love the standard time at 76 yr I get better sleep at night because it dark. Naturally you get up in the light and go to bed in the dark. This is natural any other way you are ripping off you body
I would like to see Permanent Standard Time they tried the all year daylight savings time back in 1974 during the oil embargo, but it created dark morning hours for the children who had to go to school in the morning darkness, the drivers couldn`t see the children and some got killed by the cars, because they couldn`t be seen in the dark, one Florida Governor asked to have the all year daylight saving time repealed, this conflict with having the all year standard time and the all year daylight saving time, has been going on way to long for over 50 years. Mexico had daylight saving time, but opted out fore permanent standard time, we should do the same, and have the all year standard time. the morning hours and the evening hours get light naturally with out daylight savings time, here`s the web address for it. its: http://www.savestandardtime.com/. read this web and log on to it, and pass this on to others.
Tell elon musk to keep his nose out of government business completely