Will 2024 be the last time we change the time? This is what the experts say about the future of daylight saving time

It’s that time of the year when, for most of the USA and Canada this weekend, the clocks go back one hour on Sunday as part of the Fall daylight saving time (with the clocks moving forward each March) with people enjoying an extra hour’s sleep.

This daylight saving time tradition takes place in the United States and Canada on every second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November in a drive to take advantage on extended hours of sunlight with the measure a means of saving energy and also a manner of reducing crime and road accidents. However, in recent years, voices of dissent have been growing steadily stating that these twice yearly changes take a toll on people’s health that outweighs any advantages.

However, not all US citizens will be getting an extra hour of sleep when daylight saving time (DST) commences this Sunday, as residents of Hawaii, the bulk of Arizona, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa don’t participate in the initiative.

DST is mainly used in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia/ New Zealand with Egypt the only African nation and Chile the only South American country using daylight saving time. DST is not employed by any nation in Asia. Many European countries have opted out too over time with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia and Turkey not participating in the DST initiative.

The future of DST?

In recent years, the calls arguing the against the twice yearly change have grown with more and more modern studies starting question its effectiveness with calls to eliminate DST getting continually louder, arguing that the downsides outweigh any positives.

Apart from the impact of a change in sleep pattern that can affect some people more than others, which can also affect mental well-being as for some, sleep disruption can lead to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Researchers also found that residential energy consumption actually increased by around one percent and they stated that although less lighting is needed, the longer summer evenings caused a spike in AC usage in households throughout the nation.

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Despite the growing calls to eliminate daylight saving time, it appears that there will be no immediate call from lawmakers to abolish the twice yearly ritual with Frank Pallone, the New Jersey Democrat and former chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee stating: “we don’t want to make a hasty change and then have it reversed several years later after public opinion turns against it — which is exactly what happened in the early 1970s,” Pallone said.