Could the days of ‘springing forward’ be numbered?

& While that ‘extra’ hour of sunlight in the evenings can be exhilarating, it comes with significant health trade-offs. Anna Blazhuk/Moment via Getty Images A neurologist and sleep expert explains the downside to that borrowed hour of daylight & by Beth Ann Malow, Vanderbilt University As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 10, 2024, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About one-third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. And nearly two-thirds would like to eliminate them completely, compared with 17% who aren’t sure and 21% who would like to keep moving their clocks back and forth. But the effects go beyond simple inconvenience. Researchers are discovering that “springing ahead” each March is connected with serious negative health effects, including an uptick in heart attacks and teen sleep deprivation. In contrast, the fall transition back to standard time is not associated with these health effects, as my co-authors and I explained in a 2020 commentary. I’ve studied the pros and cons of these twice-annual rituals...