When to 'fall back' for daylight saving time and why it may be changing in NY
It's an easy to remember mnemonic: "Spring ahead, fall back." And this coming Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2 a.m. almost everybody will gain an extra hour of sleep. (Or get up as you normally would and use that extra hour to check the batteries in your smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors.)
In New York, there is pending legislation to make daylight saving time permanent in the Empire State. While 19 states have already passed their own permanent DST legislation — New York's proposal is currently in Senate committee — for such a measure to take effect it requires Congressional approval. Under the Uniform Time Act, states can exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time; however, if a state chooses to observe DST, it must begin and end on federally mandated dates.
Related: Daylight saving time ends Sunday: 12 things you didn't know about it
“We believe that making daylight saving time permanent would be beneficial for New York and other states,” state Sen. Joseph Griffo and Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara wrote to Congressional leaders. “Research and studies have indicated that moving clocks forward one hour in the spring and back in the fall can negatively affect the safety, health and well-being of the public. Observing daylight saving time year-round can lead to energy savings and reductions in crime and traffic accidents and increased economic activity, which helps businesses and the economy.”
From 2022: Daylight saving time ends soon, but will it soon be the new normal? What to know
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine sees matters differently and would rather see an adoption across the country to permanent standard time, the period of the year between November and March.
“Daylight saving time disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythms and impacts sleep," said Jennifer Martin, a licensed clinical psychologist and AASM president, in a statement on its website. "Standard time provides a better opportunity to get the right duration of high-quality, restful sleep on a regular basis, which improves our cognition, mood, cardiovascular health, and overall well-being."
The organization points out that permanent daylight saving time had been attempted once before.
President Richard Nixon signed a bill that went into effect in January 1974 making daylight saving time permanent for two years. The public was initially in favor of it, buoyed by not having to change clocks twice a year. But sunrises as late as 9:30 a.m. quickly dissuaded the public, and daylight saving time was reintroduced in October 1974.
Permanent daylight saving time?: America tried it before ... and it didn't go well
The proposed Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, was unanimously approved by the Senate in 2022 but not in the House and also was not signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The 2023 version, introduced in the House, remains in committee there.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Daylight saving time: Why some say the change should be permanent
