On Tuesday, March 15, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would end the need to change our clocks twice a year and permanently use Daylight Saving Time (DST) year round. The “Sunshine Protection Act” was passed by unanimous voice vote and it will now move to the U.S. House before heading to the desk of President Biden. Supporters of the bill say it would enable more sunlight in the evenings while also reducing seasonal depression and encouraging economic growth. Approximately 30 states have introduced legislation to end the twice a year clock change and a Economist/YouGov poll found that 63% of Americans would be in support of not having to change their clocks twice a year. Supporters of the permanent Daylight Saving Time move also argue it would greatly benefit the health and safety of Americans as studies have shown that the twice a year switch of our clocks can seriously affect our health in negative ways. Studies have shown that “Falling back” going from DST to standard time each November has little serious impacts on health, but the toll on the body is much harder when we “Spring forward” each March.
The change to permanent DST would have its largest impacts during the winter months when we’d keep an extra hour of daylight in the evenings of those cold winter months. For northern Missouri that would mean our latest sunrise in early January would be around 8:30 a.m. whereas our earliest sunsets in early December would be closer to 6 p.m. rather than 5 p.m. The shortest day of the year, the winter solstice (December 21), would have an 8:30 a.m. sunrise and a 5:48 p.m. sunset.