Daylight Savings Time....still?

November 10, 2023

WHY are we still setting our clocks? According to a recent article I read, we voted Daylight Savings to be discontinued - back in 2018. Yet, we are here 5 years later....waiting and still going through the agony of an hour. Doesn't sound like much, but it is.

This bill has been sitting in Congress since 2018 waiting to be passed. Yes, an act of Congress is required...meanwhile, we are sleepy and trying to wrangle with something that is pretty unnecessary in these modern times.

An article in Northwestern Medicine, Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD, sleep medicine specialist and chief of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Neurology at Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Zee speaks about Sleep homeostasis and Circadian rhythm:

Sleep homeostasis: the desire to sleep that builds from the moment you wake up through bedtime

Circadian rhythm: the body's natural 24-hour biological cycles, including the sleep-wake cycle that regulates the timing of sleep at night and wakefulness during the day.

"We know that sleep deprivation is bad for your physical and cognitive health," notes Dr. Zee. She explains that the transition to DST can create short-term health problems — sleep issues, fatigue and changes in blood pressure — that feel like prolonged jet lag. "Late starters," or those who wake up later in the morning, as well as teenagers, who tend to be night owls, are more vulnerable to these effects because they already sleep through more hours of natural morning light. DST can further throw off their circadian rhythms."

Additionally, DST can have long-term health effects. Studies show that DST is linked to:

Okay, I've supported my little blurb here with some facts. I have one more, directly from me.

A group of crows is called a murder.

A group of owls is called a parliment.

A group of baboons -

Wait for it

...is called a Congress.

Need I say more?