Doctor advocates against time change – NBC Chicago

Daylight saving time is soon coming to an end, marking the official return to standard time in Illinois and many other states. But for some doctors and sleep experts, the time change is a polarizing topic.

According to Dr. According to James Rowley, a professor of medicine at Rush University and former president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the time change could actually do more harm than good.

The topic of summer time vs. winter time has been hotly debated, especially in recent years. Sleep experts sometimes advocate a permanent standard time. But some experts say switching to permanent daylight saving time, as some lawmakers have previously suggested, would be worse.

“Permanent standard time would basically mean that we keep what I consider to be biologically correct time all year round. And I say biologically correct because our bodies are more used to it and have evolved to keep the correct time.” “That's been considered standard time over the years,” Rowley said in an interview with NBC Chicago. “Due to the constant summer time, special problems arise in winter. It's great to have that “extra hour of sunlight” in the evening, although I always remind people that we have just as much sun in the summer, whether it's daylight or winter time, but that seems like an hour later, but im In winter, sunrise is much later, and that's very biologically problematic because we need sunshine in the morning to set our circadian rhythm for the day.”

A previous bill pushed for permanent daylight saving time, but that bill ultimately failed and no new bill was put forward for a vote.

Therefore, the clocks continue to change twice a year.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has been pushing for a move to permanent standard time for several years.

“By causing the human internal clock to be out of sync with the natural environment, daylight saving time increases risks to our physical health, mental well-being and public safety,” says Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, chairman of the AASM Public Safety Committee and a pulmonary, sleep medicine and critical care specialist at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, said in a statement. “Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety.”

Experts cited a “growing body of evidence” in recent years.

“Permanent standard time helps synchronize the internal clock with the rising and setting of the sun,” said Dr. James A. Rowley, president of the AASM, in a press release. “This natural synchrony is optimal for healthy sleep, and sleep is essential for health, mood, performance and safety.”

It also echoes similar views from other organizations, including the National Sleep Foundation, which said: “Seasonal time changes impact sleep health and should be eliminated.”

Permanent daylight saving time would result in later sunrises across much of the U.S., with some states not seeing a sunrise until after 9 a.m. during parts of the year.

“The sun in the morning actually helps us sleep at night. And of course the other problem is that it gets darker later in the morning, which brings its own issues with safety, driving and people walking. “Parents are definitely concerned about their children going to school in the dark,” Rowley said. “If we had permanent daylight saving time, most of the United States wouldn't see sunrise until after 8 a.m., and in the northern states – you know, the particularly northern states like Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas – the sun wouldn't come until after 9 a.m. seems.” And that's why the American Academy of Sleep Medicine firmly believes that we should have permanent standard time, not permanent daylight saving time.

Still, Rowley pointed out that no legislation is currently being discussed that would push a move to permanent daylight saving time, so a change is unlikely in the near future.

While clocks are still changing, Rowley noted that growing evidence suggests that the body never fully adjusts to daylight saving time — even between spring and fall.

“Losing that hour of sleep (in the spring) just makes some people more anxious, some more depressed, some more irritable. So that can be quite problematic. The problem is that, even in the long term, we think we are adapting.” Given this change, there is actually evidence that we are not fully adapting to the change, so we are still at increased risk for exposed to all of these things,” he said. “Also, as I mentioned, we need sunshine in the morning so we can fall asleep at night. But in the summer, when we have too much light until late in the evening, it actually prevents us from falling asleep. So if we have that, “extra light” in the evening actually prevents sleep, so it also has long-term consequences.”

Here's what you need to know:

When does summer time end?

According to the provisions of the Uniform Time Act, daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday in the month of November.

This year that date falls on Sunday, November 3rd and the clocks will go back one hour at 2am. While that means a bounce back sunset, it also means an extra hour of sleep, which is probably welcome news.

When is daylight saving time coming back?

Daylight saving time returns to the Chicago area on Sunday, March 9, the second Sunday in March.

At this point, the city will again have nearly 12 hours of daylight and sunset will occur shortly after 7 p.m

What is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time is a time change that usually begins in spring and ends in fall. Under the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On these days the clocks are either moved forward or back by one hour.

Outside daylight saving time, the time is called standard time.

As it stands, Illinois is somewhere between the two. The “spring forward” means the state switches to daylight saving time, and the “fall back” marks the return to standard time.

According to the Time and Date website, standard time is the local time in a country or region that does not observe daylight saving time.

“More than 60% of the world’s countries use standard time year-round,” the website says. “The remaining countries use daylight saving time during the summer months and generally set clocks forward one hour from standard time.”

Which states don't observe daylight saving time?

The annual time change will take place in Illinois and almost all US states except two:

Arizona (although some Native American tribes observe daylight saving time in their territories) and Hawaii.

Daylight saving time is also not observed in US territories such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.