Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy posted this week on social media that they want to end daylight saving time. Our hope is that they will support permanent standard time instead.
“Permanent standard time is the true time that represents the position of the sun in the sky,” said Dr. Karin Johnson, sleep medicine physician and co-chair of the coalition’s steering committee. “Restoring permanent standard time keeps clock time closely aligned with the position of the sun.”
“This natural alignment supports the human circadian rhythm, the internal body clock that regulates the timing of alertness, sleepiness, and other biological functions,” Johnson added. “This results in improved mental and physical health, safety, productivity and efficiency.”
On the other hand, permanent daylight saving time has been tried twice before and failed. The dark mornings in 1974 were dangerous and extremely unpopular leading to a rapid end of the policy.
History and science support the benefits to health, safety and prosperity of more naturally aligned permanent standard time, leading to endorsements by the American Sleep Medicine Association, National Safety Council and the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time.
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About the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time
Established in 2023, the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time is a dedicated group of diverse organizations and individuals that support the elimination of biannual clock change in the United States through the restoration of permanent standard time. The founding organizational members are the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, Save Standard Time, Sleep Research Society, and Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.
Position Statements
- AASM: Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety
- NSF: Permanent standard time
- SRS: It is time to abolish the clock change and adopt permanent standard time in the United States
- SRBR: Why should we abolish daylight saving time?