NORTH SOUND, MARCH 6: After 19 weeks on Pacific Standard Time (PST), this Sunday we return to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). On Sunday, March 9, we ‘spring forward’ an hour at 2 a.m.
Do you feel more tired after shifting to Daylight Time? You are not alone. Sleep scientists have found more than half of Americans usually feel tired after the change to Daylight Time.
Other studies have found there is an increase in vehicle crashes as well as more workplace injuries on the day after “spring forward,” compared to other Mondays. Even though the circadian rhythm gets disrupted by time changes, the impacts fade away in a matter of days, similar to jet lag when flying overseas or from one coast to another.
The Washington state legislature authorized keeping the state on daylight time in 2019, and Oregon and California have as well. However, only the U.S. Congress can authorize one or more states to stay permanently in daylight time. In recent years, Senator Murray has led several efforts to have the Senate efforts pass the Sunshine Protection Act. In 2021, it passed the Senate by unanimous vote, but the bill never made it to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Another option is to remain permanently in Standard Time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do this already, and that switch does not require U.S. Congressional action. In recent years, a few bills proposed to the state legislature would have kept the state permanently on Standard Time, but they all failed to advance. The legislators now are leading this effort by coordinating with other neighboring western U.S. states to enact permanent Standard Time authorization collectively.
There continues to be great debate on the pros and cons of permanent Standard Time. For instance, human health follows the sun, and Standard Time shadows the natural circadian cycle. If Standard Time became permanent, then around the summer solstice in June, sunrise in Washington would be near 4 a.m. and sunset around 8 p.m. Proponents of permanent Daylight Time highlight the longer summer evening hours for more outdoor activities and decreased crime.
There are many more arguments on both sides of the Standard versus Daylight Time debate, but what is far more clear is that a high percentage of Americans simply want to stop the twice a year time changes.
But because we will be switching to PDT for at least another year, fire agencies and the National Weather Service want to remind us the time change is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, and your NOAA Weather Radios. Too many fatal fire tragedies occur because smoke detectors have a dead battery. Your all-hazard NOAA Weather Radios also need to operate when the power goes out and provide reliable all-hazards warning information.
So Saturday night, March 8, remember to move your clocks ahead one hour. Your cell phones and computers should make the time change themselves.
