Senate Passes Bill To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios: The Senate passed a measure that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent across the U.S. The bill -- the Sunshine Protection Act co-sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) -- was passed by unanimous consent. It would make Daylight Savings time permanent in 2023. If the legislation clears the House and is signed into law by President Biden, it will mean Americans will no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. Health groups have called for an end to the seasonal shifting of clocks, a ritual first adopted in the U.S. more than a century ago. At a house hearing last week, health experts cited sleep deprivation and health problems as negative effects associated with changing clocks. Nearly two-thirds of Americans want to stop changing their clocks, according to a 2021 Economist/YouGov poll. Axios has learned that Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) "will be leading a letter to Speaker Pelosi calling for immediate House passage of his bill." By making DST permanent, legislators are prioritizing more daylight in the evening, which could improve our health and allow for more sunshine during the most productive hours of the day. According to a new study published yesterday, sleeping in the dark may reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. "The results from this study demonstrate that just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome," said study author Dr Phyllis Zee.

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