A University of Washington (UW) Medicine sleep expert says making daylight saving time permanent could do more harm than good when it comes to sleep, health and learning.
Dr. Vishesh Kapur
“Daylight saving time is an artificial time construct, which essentially forces people to wake up an hour earlier than the sun would have them wake up,” said Dr. Vishesh Kapur, a professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and co-director of the UW Medicine Sleep Center.
Kapur said the biggest effects would be felt during the winter, when mornings are already dark. In Seattle, for example, the sun would not rise until about 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day under permanent daylight saving time, leaving many children heading to school before sunrise.
“When individuals have to make a time change where they have to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, that is much more difficult to adjust to,” Kapur said.
He said standard time is a better match for the body’s natural internal clock. Keeping daylight saving time year-round, he said, could lead to more sleep deprivation and broader health concerns, especially for people who start their days early or naturally tend to stay up later.
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