Iowa May Adopt All-year Daylight Saving Time and Stop Changing Our Clocks
House State Government Committee had voted 13-10 to move forward a bill that will let Iowa adopt an all-year Daylight Saving Time, ending the clock changes in the Spring and Fall that cause headaches for people in many ways. From being late to church or work that day or losing an hour of sleep (I never appreciate that one), or even disrupting children's lives by messing with their schedules, it's been a very controversial subject among Americans for years.
Why not just end DST for good?
In a news story in The Courier, Rep. Mike Sexton has heard constituents say that the changes may not seem to be much of a big deal but they see a rise in accidents in the workplace and on Iowa's roadways. He also mentioned that it may have affected miscarriages and the suicide rate.
However, Rep. Bruce Hunter says that trying to enact this as the law does nothing but cause "code clutter" if Congress doesn't agree to pass it, and up to this point, it hasn't made a definitive decision, either way.
HF 2105 is up for debate in the House, now before it can move forward and become a law.
There are already states that do not participate in Daylight Saving; Arizona and Hawai'i
Hawai'i dropped it in 1967, as it didn't make any sense in an area near the equator, where the sun and night arrived after nearly the same amount of time.
Arizona did it the next year because that state gets a lot of sun all year long (too much for me -WOW!) so altering time didn't help or hinder anything. Only the Navajo Nation in Arizona observes DST.
Also, Puerto Rico and the Northern Marina Islands; the U.S. Virgin Islands; American Samoa; and Guam do not observe DST.
In fact, Iowa once had 23 different pairs of start and end dates throughout the state. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 is what set this fix in motion.
Some advantages of DST? Well, they're pretty much about profit. Industry lobbyists from the candy companies have been pushing for the longer, 8-month change that we have now so (get this...) with the sun going down later in October, kids stay out longer and get more candy, therefore, parents have to buy more candy to hand out!
The golfing industry is also behind DST the way it is because it's reported that the extra month brought in an additional $200 million in sales of golf clubs and greens fees, while the barbecue industry found that they can make an extra $100 million.
Advantages of giving up DST? Better sleep, as losing and gaining 1 hour 2 times a year is enough to mess with your natural circadian rhythm. A regulated sleep time that is consistent, helps a human's health in many ways including one's mental health.
Oddly enough, there's a rise in acute myocardial infarction events on the Monday after DST. Research hasn't been able to definitively say why this happens, but it's mainly with people with heart issues anyway. If DST is not helping these people, why not just cancel it and possibly save more lives?
Besides heart issues, strokes have an 8% rise in the 2 days after DST. According to The American Academy of Neurology, the disruption in circadian rhythms caused by DST can jar a person's sleep enough that, if they already have issues sleeping, it could cause a stroke.
More advantages to ending DST can be found here in Reader's Digest.