The good news? We all get an extra hour of sleep Sunday. The bad news? There will come a day in a few months when we lose an hour of sleep.
Such is the drama surrounding Daylight Saving Time. Some people love it, some people hate it, and no one can settle on a solution.
California voters approved doing away with the time change in 2018, but legislators couldn’t figure out what schedule to settle on. Daylight Saving Time means the sun stays out later longer. The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would have embraced Daylight Saving Time all year. It stalled in the House of Representatives.
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“The more that we get information, the more the news covers this, I think people are going to come to a conclusion,” said University of San Diego Media Studies Professor Esteban del Río, Ph.D.
Dr. del Río said committing to one set clock all year long would improve traffic safety, benefit businesses, and improve health.
“From a public health perspective, I think we all need to understand that sleep is important,” added Dr. Atul Malhotra, a professor of medicine at UC San Diego.
Dr. Malhotra said there can be devastating impacts in the Spring when people lose an hour of sleep.
“There are real consequences to being sleep deprived,” he said. “The easy part is to prioritize health and understand that you can’t burn the candle at both ends.”
Nevertheless, del Río thinks a decision will eventually be made.
“We’re going to come to a place where people are going to be able to make a good decision.”
