Sally Mao/ Staff reporter
Daylight saving time is not particularly necessary for the people.
Since the daylight saving time has started on March 14th, everyone has gradually become accustomed to the changes. After all, it is only an hour faster than usual.
How does daylight savings time benefit people?
According to the Scientific American article titled” Governments Worldwide Consider Ditching Daylight Saving Time.” Scientists have been advising attention to the devastating effects of the time change on people, including a general reduction in mental and physical health and a potential increase in serious complications, such as strokes and heart attacks, soon after a shift.
The researchers observed that the stroke rate or heart attack rate increased within one week after the time change. The main increase is the conversion from standard daylight to daylight in March.
“We think that what’s triggering that increase is either the loss of an hour of sleep or the circadian misalignment, where you’re off sync when you move the clocks an hour ahead, whenever we disrupt sleep or disrupt our circadian rhythm, it can cause increases in inflammatory markers and our stress response—and we know that can take a toll on the heart and the brain.” Beth Malow, a professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, said in an interview.
If daylight saving time were eliminated, we wouldn’t lose an hour of sleep or have our circadian rhythms disrupted, and it would have less of an impact on our bodies.
From the article “Negative Health Effects of DST”, people can learn about some of the effects of daylight saving time changes on people:
- A Swedish study found that switching to DST in the spring was associated with an increased risk of a heart attack in the first three days.
- Fatigue caused by the clock change on Monday after daylight saving time began was cited as the main reason for the increase in traffic accidents.
- There were more workplace injuries on Monday after daylight saving time began, and the injuries were more severe than on other Mondays.
- The onset of DST has also been associated with miscarriage in IVF patients.
After daylight saving time begins, lose an hour of time, which they could have used to have a meal, watch a movie, write an article or do some interesting things. Losing an hour can lead to unnecessary illnesses such as mental illness and bipolar disorder.
- A Danish study found an 11 percent year-on-year increase in cases of depression after a time change. The cases gradually disappeared after 10 weeks.
- An Australian study found that male suicide rates increased the day after the spring and fall shifts in DST. In order to fall asleep more easily, people’s bodies should not be affected by the brightness of the outside sky.
The changing effects of daylight saving time can result in too little light in the morning and too much at night. With the arrival of summer, as the days get longer and the nights get brighter, in order to fall asleep more easily, people’s bodies should not be affected by the brightness of the outside sky.
Will the onset of daylight saving time have a big psychological impact on people?
Do people like daylight saving time?
Losing an hour of evening light can significantly affect our mood and marks the start of seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression associated with a lack of sunlight.
Samantha Li, a grade 10 New Media student and Sabrina Guo, a grade 11 student, said they don’t really like daylight saving time too much, the reason for being that it caused her to lose an hour of sleep. Indeed, for students, sleep is very important, and it is also what they desire.
According to the Global News article of “B.C. premier hopes Sunday’s Daylight-Saving Time clock change will be the last.” “B.C. Premier John Horgan says he hopes when British Columbians set their clocks forward Sunday morning, it will be the last time they do it.” The time shift is to switch to daylight saving time every year, and the New Democratic Party of BC government has promised to eliminate this situation.
People can find that having daylight saving time can save power, reduce the occurrence of traffic accidents and enjoy more natural lighting.
According to the article by UT Southwestern, “Why the daylight-saving time may be bad for your brain and health.” In fact, the synchronization of biological clocks twice a year is related to the increased health risks, such as depression, obesity, heart disease, cancer and even traffic accidents. Facts have proved that workers who work in three shifts get 26% less sleep than those who work in the first shift. Due to the requirements of school, sports and social schedules, the suggested working hours for teenagers and children are usually less than the suggested 10 hours per night, and saving time during the day seems to aggravate the already common problem.
A number of studies have shown that heart attacks have increased since the beginning of daylight saving time in spring but began to decrease in autumn. Meanwhile, in the first two days after the two-time changes, the incidence of stroke increased by 8%. After the change in spring, fatal traffic accidents have become more dangerous. A recent study shows that fatal accidents increase by 6% and it is more common to change the clock directly in the morning.
Lack of sunlight inhibits the production of two important hormones: sleep-inducing melatonin and the “happiness chemical” serotonin, which both play a key role in emotional balance. People are more likely to be grumpy but unable to sleep in the days after daylight saving time.
There is no harm in cancelling daylight saving time. Without daylight saving time, people will return to having one more hour of sleep, and people’s health risks will also decrease during work and leisure time. Isn’t that good?
The body is what people should care about most. So there is no daylight saving time, but it is helpful for us.
Sources:
- Governments Worldwide Consider Ditching Daylight Saving Time.
- Negative Health Effects of DST
- Danish study
- Australian study
- B.C. premier hopes Sunday’s Daylight-Saving Time clock change will be the last
- Why the daylight-saving time may be bad for your brain and health.
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