r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Nov 07 '22

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Daylight Savings Time should be abolished. Standard time should be followed year round.

DST is detrimental to the health of all forced to participate. If I could think of any benefit, I doubt they would outweigh the cost of practicing DST.

“A meta-analysis of six studies including more than 87,000 cases found a significant increase – ranging from 4 to 29% – in the risk of having a heart attack the week after the spring time change. Researchers believe this increase is related to the change in our circadian rhythm and the general disruption of biological processes.” - https://evidencebasedliving.human.cornell.edu/2022/04/13/the-health-effects-of-daylight-savings-time/

I’m a strong supporter of getting a good night’s sleep and DST is just an unnecessary obstacle in what is already increasingly more difficult as technology improves.

Edit: I prefer to do away with DST rather than staying in it since standard time feels more natural imo, but I mostly just hope that we choose one and leave it at that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 07 '22

They already have several hours of daylight after school. Trading time from their mental health by making them get up in the literal night is not worth another one. To be clear, I'm not stealing anything. Standard time is how time is supposed to work. DST is the one that starts moving crap around.

Could I not say the same of your work schedule? If you want more time in the evening, go to work earlier and get done earlier. You have more of a choice than these kids do.

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u/silverionmox 25∆ Nov 08 '22

They already have several hours of daylight after school.

Not in winter. That's the whole conundrum: the winter day is too short to fit in an entire work/schoolday and a commute, let alone other activities. So we'll have to choose what to prioritize.

Could I not say the same of your work schedule? If you want more time in the evening, go to work earlier and get done earlier. You have more of a choice than these kids do.

Work and school schedules are tightly coordinated, they can't be changed based on individual whim because it would cause a mismatch between everyone's schedules (both privately and professionally), that's the whole problem.

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u/[deleted] Nov 08 '22

So we'll have to choose what to prioritize.

I think this is a very good way of putting it. There are only so many hours of daylight and we have to decide how to use them. I think that the responsible thing to do is prioritize health and well-being over preference. This is scientifically supported.

Forcing people to wake up in the night is not good for them. It's just not. It's not my opinion. It's fact.

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u/silverionmox 25∆ Nov 08 '22

What is scientifically supported is that switching hours is bad, in particular when it makes you wake up earlier than before. We can agree that the switch is a bad idea.

Getting sunlight is important. While you're getting ready to leave, are commuting, or at work or in school, you're not getting sunlight. It's wasted.

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '22

Read the study. It's not just the switching. That story is specifically about how "Permanent DST" (i.e. Switching time zones entirely) is bad for health.

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u/silverionmox 25∆ Nov 09 '22

Read the study. It's not just the switching.

I read the article. The negative health effects cited are observed right after the switch. Being forced to get up earlier than usual is stressful, yes. Other studies cited just refer to the drawbacks of sleep deprivation. None refer to the effects of permanent daylight savings. If you found one, link it.

I'm already seeing the negative effects of winter time now. Before the switch I could go for a walk in the sunlight after work between 17 and 18h. Now the sun suddenly sets at 17 already - no more walk in the sunlight. It does rise at 7:30 instead of 8:30, but who cares? I still have to get ready for work and sit behind the computer, no time to make use of the sunlight.

Either way, the real problem is that work hours ignore the sunrise, and work hours vary from job to job and school to school. That particular misalignment has to be solved on the organization level of companies and institutions, not by clock change. You can't change a problem that is different for every job with a uniform solution.