The Case for Abolishing Daylight Saving Time
November 2, 2025
Daylight saving time (DST) persists despite overwhelming evidence against it. The majority of Americans—62%—want it eliminated, yet governments continue enforcing this century-old practice. dallas-sleep
The strongest argument for abolishing DST rests on dual pillars: measurable public health damage and the complete failure of its original energy-saving mission.
Health Crisis
The health consequences are severe and immediate. When Americans lose an hour of sleep in spring, heart attacks spike by 10% and strokes by 8%. Traffic fatalities increase by 6% in the days following the transition. DST creates "social jet lag"—a misalignment between the body's internal clock and external demands—linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mental health problems. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
Stanford researchers found that permanent standard time would prevent an estimated 300,000 strokes per year and reduce obesity cases by 2.6 million. The mechanism is straightforward: our circadian rhythms evolved to respond to morning sunlight, which suppresses melatonin and increases alertness. DST reverses this by creating morning darkness and evening light—precisely wrong for human biology. sleepfoundation+2
Energy Savings: A Debunked Myth
DST was adopted to reduce energy consumption, but modern research proves it fails. When Indiana implemented DST statewide in 2006, energy consumption actually increased. The 1973-1974 period, when the U.S. maintained year-round DST during the oil crisis, revealed minimal energy savings. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
Modern society's energy use bears little relationship to daylight hours—we rely on electricity for computers, air conditioning, and heating regardless of sunlight.
Permanent Standard Time
Leading experts and organizations—including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the European Sleep Research Society—recommend adopting permanent standard time, not daylight saving time. ama-assn
Standard time matches our biology by providing plenty of morning sunlight (which helps us wake up and set our body clocks for the day) and letting evenings remain darker (which triggers natural melatonin production for better sleep and overall health).
Daylight saving time is now obsolete and harmful, rejected by the majority of top sleep scientists and by most countries globally. Let’s join the rest of the world in abolishing DST for good.
