Daylight Savings Time: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Psychiatrists

 

Daylight Savings Time (DST) has become quite a contentious topic in recent years, especially when it comes to the potential negative health impacts associated with the shift. The idea behind DST was first put forward by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 in an essay titled, “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light.” DST, however, was not introduced in the US until World War I, when it began as a bid to conserve energy as well as a solution to reduce crime rates (the rational being that longer daylight hours would equate to safer streets). It was met with a significant amount of pushback from the public.

Some states chose to opt out of DST altogether; Hawaii and Arizona, for example, have never observed DST. Others have been trying to follow suit: Florida approved a bill in 2018 to opt out of the biannual time change, and multiple bills have been put forward in the New York state legislature to do the same.

Meanwhile, every spring and autumn, there is much ado about moving our clocks forward and backward as part of the daylight savings time process. Even though the change is just 1 hour in each direction, there are people who insist it causes havoc on their systems and schedules. Is there any scientific foundation to this claim? Let us examine some common questions, concerns, and myths.

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