Daily PRESS. — 28 июля 2026 г. в 09:14:28.839

Daily PRESS. NEWS. More light at the day’s end comes at a price: much later winter sunrises across much of the U.S. Scientists have documented consequences for public health and the economy.The Sunshine Protection Act, passed by the House this month, promises an easy fix to an unpopular ritual: The bill would halt the twice-yearly changing of the clocks and make daylight saving time permanent. A competing House measure, introduced in early July, would lock the clock on standard time. Now lawmakers confront three imperfect options: permanent daylight saving time, permanent standard time, or the seasonal clock-switching we have now. Permanent daylight saving time may well be the riskiest of those choices, many scientists believe, with unintended consequences for health and the economy. Ultimately, the question is where to place an hour of daylight, a particularly scarce resource in winter. The name of the House bill “gives the illusion that you’re increasing the amount of light,” said Jamie Zeitzer, co-director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences at Stanford University. “But you’re not. You’re just changing when the light occurs.” In Seattle, for example, permanent daylight saving time would push sunrise past 8:30 a.m. for roughly 10 weeks each winter. Permanent standard time would bring sunrise before 4:30 a.m. for about two months each summer. Many sleep and circadian scientists think the disputed hour belongs in the morning. A network of clocks throughout the body coordinates everything from immune defenses to metabolism. The most potent time-setting signal for that system: sunlight. Bright mornings and dark evenings help keep the internal clocks in sync, so the body can perform the right functions at the right times. Shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening potentially disrupts this circadian system. “The preponderance of the evidence is that daylight saving time is not good for our health or safety, and I think it shouldn’t happen,” said Elizabeth B. Klerman, a sleep and circadian researcher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Studies link chronic circadian misalignment to higher risks of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, some cancers and mental health problems. That’s one reason why the American Medical Association and other health, sleep and scientific organizations have endorsed permanent standard time. Still, the appeal of permanent daylight saving time is obvious. More people would leave school and work before dark during the winter. Extra evening light might encourage exercise and socializing and, some studies suggest, reduce car accidents and rates of certain crimes.