"Winding clocks an hour back this fall, when daylight saving time ends for the year across much of the U.S., might do more than just disrupt sleep: evidence suggests such time changes could damage health in the long run. A new study published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA indicates that eliminating these repeated time shifts and keeping standard time permanently might help lower rates of obesity and stroke."
"Our work reveals that there may be greater health benefits on a population level if we switch to a permanent standard time, says study co-author Lara Weed, a bioengineering Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. We hope that policymakers take a peek at [the rates of disease in] their individual states when they're making assessments on how to incorporate the information that we provided."
"Past research has shown that switching to standard time every fall and daylight saving time every spring brings various kinds of negative consequences, including a higher risk of heart attacks and car accidents, along with disruptions to sleep, alertness and productivity. Several international scientific associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have spoken out against time shifting, arguing that the greater morning light exposure provided by standard time could help reduce many of these problems."
Eliminating twice-yearly clock changes and keeping permanent standard time could lower population rates of obesity and stroke. Repeated shifts between standard and daylight saving time disrupt circadian rhythms, fragment sleep, reduce daytime alertness and productivity, and raise risks of heart attacks and car crashes. Greater morning light exposure under standard time better aligns internal biological clocks with the solar day, supporting metabolic regulation and cardiovascular health. Several major medical and sleep associations oppose routine time shifting and recommend policies that minimize circadian disruption. Comparisons of the two time observations show population-level health benefits associated with permanent standard time, informing state-level policy choices.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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