“Republicans are once again attempting to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, with President Donald Trump promising to lead the push to end the longstanding American practice of switching clocks twice a year.”

  • jaykrown@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    Good, please do this. It’s so fucking unnecessary to change the clock, and it’s a nonpartisan issue. I bet someone could do a deep analysis of how much it costs us each year during that hour time change, people showing up late, missing appointments, traffic patterns, etc.

    🕒 The Real Cost of “Springing Forward”

    Changing the clocks isn’t just annoying—it is a massive, self-inflicted tax on our health, safety, and economy. Here is what that one hour of lost sleep actually costs us every year:

    • 💸 The Direct Economic Hit: Economic analysis pegs the immediate cost of the spring transition at over 672 million dollars in lost productivity, wages, and medical costs.
    • 📉 The Productivity Crash: Workplace productivity drops by roughly 20% on the Monday following the time change.
    • 🚗 Danger on the Roads: Fatal car accidents spike by 6% during the first workweek of Daylight Saving Time, as millions of sleep-deprived commuters are suddenly forced back into driving in pitch-black morning conditions.
    • 🏥 Severe Health Spikes: Heart attacks increase by 24% on the Monday after the shift. Workplace injuries jump by 5.7%, and because workers are fatigued, those injuries tend to be far more severe—resulting in 67.6% more days lost from work.
    • 💡 The “Energy Saving” Myth: The original excuse for DST was to save energy, but modern studies show the actual global savings are a microscopic 0.3%. In fact, many regions see energy bills go up because of increased morning heating and extended evening air conditioning.

    The Bottom Line: We are tanking our health, risking lives on the road, and bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars every single year—all to chase a century-old lighting rule that doesn’t even save energy anymore.