鈥淭here are no solutions. There are only trade-offs,鈥� observed Economist Thomas Sowell. I would only add that the existence of competing interests, costs, and benefits does not absolve policymakers of the duty to choose.
Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the country, ending the brutal biannual clock change.
The vote wasn鈥檛 close, 308 ayes to 117 nays, and was more bipartisan than most. States like Arizona and Hawaii that observe year-long Standard Time would not be impacted, while states that want year-round DST will have that option. Under current law, passed in 1966, states can opt out of DST but not opt in for the full year. If the Sunshine Protection Act is signed into law, Colorado and another 18 states that have previously voted to 鈥渓ock the clock鈥� will switch to DST.
Lawmakers are responding not just to biannual grousing by irritable constituents and columnists but to the growing body of studies demonstrating a link between clock changing and adverse health and safety outcomes.
For example, according to a 2014 University of Colorado study, switching the time twice a year was correlated with more than 300 deaths over a decade from auto accidents, heart attacks and stress. An earlier 2012 University of Alabama at Birmingham study showed a 10% increase in heart attacks on the Monday and Tuesday after spring-forward.聽 The risk of stroke was shown to be 8% higher during those days, and even higher among cancer patients and people over the age of 65, Finnish research found.
Spring-forward can also trigger migraines and cluster headaches in those who suffer from those conditions, says Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Emad Estemalik. Altogether, the social cost of spring-forward amounts to $275 million annually, observed a study published in the American Economics Journal.
It抖阴ap no wonder a 2025 poll found most Americans want the clock swap to end, with 56% of Americans preferring all-year DST and 42% wanting permanent Standard Time. It抖阴ap likely all 42% in that poll are 鈥渕orning people鈥� who want not only to foist their unnatural sunny morning demeanor on us all but the physical sun rays as well. They are joined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who believe Standard Time better aligns with the human circadian system, which requires morning light and evening darkness to optimize. Curiously, 12% of Americans polled want to keep the biannual time change.
Given the sane public鈥檚 desire to end the clock change, why is the Senate balking? Back in 2022, the chamber passed a similar bill by unanimous consent, yet this year a group of bipartisan senators is opposing the legislation.
They worry that the late rising sun will negatively impact children walking to school in the dark. If DST became the standard, the longest winter night in Denver would not end until 8:21 am but in areas of Montana and Michigan, the sun would not rise until 9:30 a.m. The senators note that when DST was implemented temporarily in 1974, parents and morning commuters complained about the darkness, and Congress repealed the measure within a year.
Times have changed, however, and fewer children walk to school than we did back in the 1970s, uphill both ways, barefoot in the blizzarding snow. Also, more schools have adopted later school start times to accommodate the sleep needs of adolescents. Given the ubiquity of street lights, parent drivers, and later start times, the public could accommodate the costs of permanent DST while enjoying sunlight after work.
Alternatively, the Senate could approve permanent Standard Time and send the bill over to the House for debate. Doing nothing shouldn鈥檛 be an option. While that might please the 12% of madcap happy clock switchers, the rest of us will remain dissatisfied until Congress finds the will to act.
Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.
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