Donald Trump has a lot of bold plans for this country to make it great again, and one idea that started getting some ink this week is his call to end Daylight Saving Time (DST). In a post on Truth Social, he called it “inconvenient” and “very costly,” and vowed that Republicans will work to end the twice-yearly ritual of remembering to change our clocks and complaining about losing an hour sleep in the spring and then losing an hour of light in the fall.
It’s certainly a bold promise that taps into widespread frustration with interrupted sleep schedules in exchange for negligible energy savings. But it nevertheless raises an important question: if we eliminate the time change, which time do we keep—Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time?
The debate over this issue reveals a clear divide. Personally, I prefer longer days, and more daylight into the evening. When I used to have an office job that required a daily commute, there was nothing worse than leaving the office for the day when it was already dark out. And if there is inclement weather, the darkness can make the trek home that much more treacherous.
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Of course, leaving for work in the morning when it was still dark out was no picnic, either. Still, I think overall, more light at the end of the day is what I’d like. It’s more conducive to outdoor activities, family time, and recreation in the afternoons. When I was a commuter, that extra daylight felt like more opportunity to seize what was left of the day.
And that seems to be the general preference of a plurality of Americans.
However, according to a recent report from The Hill, health experts and early risers tend to favor year-round Standard Time.
They argue that it aligns more closely with our natural circadian rhythms, promoting better sleep and overall well-being. Morning light, they say, plays a critical role in helping our internal clocks regulate, setting us up for a healthier and more productive day, blah, blah, blah. The experts say the benefits of brighter mornings outweigh the loss of evening daylight. But, come on, while mornings would be brighter, the long summer evenings many Americans enjoy would become a thing of the past.
Despite the popularity of not having to switch our clocks twice a year, efforts to change it haven’t gotten anywhere. In 2022, the Senate passed Marco Rubio’s Sunshine Protection Act, which proposed making DST permanent. Despite gaining bipartisan support, it stalled in the House.
What does that tell us? Well, I think it means that Trump’s criticism of the current system could reignite the debate, but division over which time to keep will likely keep the issue in limbo, and regardless of whether you’re on Team Standard Time or Team Daylight Savings, you’re bound to be disappointed.
And maybe that’s just the way it has to be. If eliminating the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks means losing long summer days, I think I’d rather stick to the current system. Heck, most of the clocks in my house automatically adjust to the time changes anyway—so it's not as if there's a risk of forgetting and getting mixed up.
