glen brown

A writer must “know and have an ever-present consciousness that this world is a world of fools and rogues… tormented with envy, consumed with vanity; selfish, false, cruel, cursed with illusions… He should free himself of all doctrines, theories, etiquettes, politics…” —Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). “The nobility of the writer's occupation lies in resisting oppression, thus in accepting isolation” —Albert Camus (1913-1960). “What are you gonna do” —Bertha Brown (1895-1987).

Saturday, March 12, 2022

American Academy of Sleep Medicine Calls for Elimination of Daylight-Saving Time

The last several years have seen intense debate about the issue of transitioning between standard and daylight-saving time. In the United States, the annual advance to daylight saving time in spring, and fall back to standard time in autumn, is required by law (although some exceptions are allowed under the statute).

An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks, including increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes.

Although chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving time year-round have not been well studied, daylight saving time is less aligned with human circadian biology—which, due to the impacts of the delayed natural light/dark cycle on human activity, could result in circadian misalignment, which has been associated in some studies with increased cardiovascular disease risk, metabolic syndrome and other health risks.

It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time.

This ABSTRACT is from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine:

Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement | Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (aasm.org)

CITATION:

Rishi MA, Ahmed O, Barrantes Perez JH, et al. Daylight-saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(10):1781–1784.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine Calls for Elimination of Daylight-Saving Time

The AASM supports a switch to permanent standard time, explaining in the statement that standard time more closely aligns with the daily rhythms of the body’s internal clock. The position statement also cites evidence of increased risks of motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular events, and mood disturbances following the annual “spring forward” to daylight saving time.

“Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle,” said lead author Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, a pulmonology, sleep medicine and critical care specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and vice chair of the AASM Public Safety Committee. “Daylight saving time results in more darkness in the morning and more light in the evening, disrupting the body’s natural rhythm.”

The position statement, published online as an accepted paper in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, outlines the acute effects of daylight-saving time, which range from increased risk of stroke and hospital admissions to sleep loss and increased production of inflammatory markers, one of the body’s responses to stress. In addition, studies show that traffic fatalities have increased as much as six percent in the first few days following the change to daylight saving time, and a recently published research abstract found an 18 percent increase in adverse medical events related to human error in the week after switching to daylight saving time.

“There is ample evidence of the negative, short-term consequences of the annual change to daylight saving time in the spring,” said AASM President Dr. Kannan Ramar. “Because the adoption of permanent standard time would be beneficial for public health and safety, the AASM will be advocating at the federal level for this legislative change.”

In July, an AASM survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults found that 63 percent support the elimination of seasonal time changes in favor of a national, fixed, year-round time, and only 11 percent oppose it. Additionally, a 2019 survey by the AASM found that 55 percent of adults feel extremely or somewhat tired after the spring change to daylight saving time.

The AASM position statement on daylight saving time has been endorsed by the following organizations: