Scientists Warn of the Downside of Adopting Permanent Daylight Saving Time

⚠️ Scientists’ warnings about the dark side of adopting permanent daylight saving time

The American proposal to apply daylight saving time all year is sparking growing debate, given its benefits in providing an extra hour of evening daylight versus potential risks to children’s safety. A recent study shows that adopting this system could lead to billions of trips to school in the dark, which would have a tangible impact on students’ health and safety.

🚸 The impact of permanent daylight saving time on school trips

Refusing to return to standard time in the fall would delay sunrise by up to an hour during the winter months from November to March. This means children would leave their homes and attend school without sunrise light for the longest possible period.

• A team of researchers at Washington University analyzed school start times, school locations, and student distribution in 14 U.S. states out of 19 that approved the new system.
• The study showed a huge increase in the number of times students would travel to school in the dark, reaching 35 million in Washington state alone and 71 million in Georgia.
• Across the United States, the increase could reach more than 2 billion additional school trips made in the dark compared with the current system.

🌅 Safety risks and children’s need for morning light

The increase in travel before sunrise puts students at greater risk on the way to school, as U.S. traffic records have shown that fatal pedestrian crashes in the dark morning hours are twice as common as during periods after sunrise.

In addition to traffic risks, the study pointed to the importance of exposure to morning sunlight in regulating children’s biological clocks, which affects sleep, mood, and appetite.

“Permanent daylight saving time gives us an extra hour of evening light, but takes it away from the morning, and that has consequences for our children’s safety and health.”

🌍 Geographic and social distribution of the impact

The reduction in morning light would be most severe in areas near the western borders of time zones, such as Forks in Washington. Schools that start early also see the largest increase in trips made under dim light.

Two prominent examples are Mississippi and Alabama, where schools start early before 8 a.m., which would raise the number of student trips in the dark from about 2 million trips currently to more than 20 million trips in each state if permanent daylight saving time were adopted.

📊 Additional dimensions and future effects

The researchers’ estimate is based on students leaving for school at around 8 a.m., a relatively optimistic average time that produces a lower estimate than the expected real impact.

Changing the time in this way could also conflict with efforts to improve teenagers’ sleep by delaying school start times, since delaying sunrise may make it harder for them to follow natural biological rhythms.

One proposed solution is to delay the start of the school day, but that could lead to major changes in family and work schedules, thereby shifting time-related problems to other parts of the day.

⚖️ Balancing evening light and morning light

The researchers conclude that the issue of permanent daylight saving time involves a complex balance between gaining more evening light and the benefits of morning light. Removing seasonal clock changes may simplify schedules, but it comes at a clear cost to children’s health and safety.

In the end, the scientists say the decision must carefully take these challenges into account to preserve the interests of children and society as a whole.

Source: Current Biology website

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