The Impacts of Abolishing Daylight Savings Time
Mar 3, 2025
The impacts of ending Daylight Savings Time could negatively affect those with sleep problems, according to sleep scientist Hans Van Dongen, a WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine professor. The WSU Insider reports the hour of lost sleep from the spring time change is linked to temporary negative health impacts, including a rise in heart attacks and car accidents. People who are already sleep deprived are particularly vulnerable to the effects of losing an hour of rest, Van Dongen said. “Daylight saving time mimics that natural variation over the seasons, although that wasn’t why it was originally instituted,” Van Dongen said. “Making that one-hour shift suddenly can cause some problems, but we don’t actually know that holding the time constant would be a better compromise.” Moving further away from that natural variation could cause more problems, including potentially increasing rates of seasonal affective disorder.
The impacts of ending Daylight Savings Time could negatively affect those with sleep problems, according to sleep scientist Hans Van Dongen, a WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine professor. The WSU Insider reports the hour of lost sleep from the spring time change is linked to temporary negative health impacts, including a rise in heart attacks and car accidents. People who are already sleep deprived are particularly vulnerable to the effects of losing an hour of rest, Van Dongen said. “Daylight saving time mimics that natural variation over the seasons, although that wasn’t why it was originally instituted,” Van Dongen said. “Making that one-hour shift suddenly can cause some problems, but we don’t actually know that holding the time constant would be a better compromise.” Moving further away from that natural variation could cause more problems, including potentially increasing rates of seasonal affective disorder.