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These days, it’s hard enough to get everyone in one party to agree on something, let alone the entire Senate. But this bill went through unanimously.
If you were among the people complaining that twice-yearly time changes were pointless and disruptive, this story’s for you.
Dems and Republicans — at least in the Senate — agree with you, and are trying to do something about it.
The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.
“No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles — that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the original cosponsor of the legislation, said in a statement.
…“Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression — people in this country, all the way from Seattle to Miami, want the Sunshine Protection Act,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington added. —HoustonChronicle
Democrats, naturally, pointed to the environmental benefits that would be gained by it.
But there are other good reasons too.
The impact on daily life has been cited by some specialists.
Sleep deprivation also leads to performance deficits on reflex and attention tasks. These tiny lapses may manifest themselves in fatal traffic accidents in the five days following the transition to daylight saving time, when the risk of such a crash occurring increases by 6%. In the seven days following the spring DST transition, research also has found an 18.7% increase in patient safety-related incidents in health care settings that likely were due to human error.
This time change additionally produces observable mental health consequences. Self-report research indicates lower life satisfaction and decreased mood resulting from the “summer” time change in Germany. Research focused on Australia even suggests that male suicide rates increase after the change to DST, while in Vienna, Austria, a study found an increase in daily total mortality of about 3% over the course of the week after the time change. — USNews
Others have said the policy itself can be literally a matter of life and death.
Heart attacks occur most often on Monday mornings, and on one particular Monday, the risk may be further elevated.
The number of heart attacks rises the Monday after daylight saving time and the culprit could be interrupted sleep.
Research shows a 24 percent jump in the number of heart attacks occurring the Monday after we “spring forward” for daylight saving time compared with other Mondays throughout the year.
According to a study led by the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, that lost hour of sleep may play a bigger, and perhaps more dangerous role in our body’s natural rhythm. — Four States Homepage
Do you still love the time change? Or is it time to set it and forget it?
Daylight Savings Poll
Psalms of War: Prayers That Literally Kick Ass is a collection, from the book of Psalms, regarding how David rolled in prayer. I bet you haven’t heard these read, prayed, or sung in church against our formidable enemies — and therein lies the Church’s problem. We’re not using the spiritual weapons God gave us to waylay the powers of darkness. It might be time to dust them off and offer ‘em up if you’re truly concerned about the state of Christ’s Church and of our nation.
Also included in this book, Psalms of War, are reproductions of the author’s original art from his Biblical Badass Series of oil paintings.
This is a great gift for the prayer warriors. Real. Raw. Relevant.
