# Does today's unanimous Senate approval of a permanent DST bill mean it's a fait accompli? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145 "2022-03-15T23:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/101 "2022-03-17T05:37:06Z")
Yes. And we have generally collectively decided that it’s much better to spend dark time at the end of the day than at the beginning because we are biologically inclined to align our wake cycle with the onset of sunlight. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/102 "2022-03-17T05:56:54Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Do people not understand that the annoying part of the time change is (mostly) not physically changing clocks? It’s that you get an hour less sleep! It’s like a small jetlag twice a year. And that results in higher accident rates for a week or two after it happens. And a couple other bad things which I can’t remember off-hand. But that’s the real reason to stop changing the clocks, rather than the inconvenience. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/103 "2022-03-17T06:20:15Z")
It seems that may be so. Full title: **Sleep experts say Senate has it wrong: Standard time, not daylight saving, should be permanent** > **[Sleep experts say Senate has it wrong: Standard time, not daylight saving,...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/03/16/daylight-saving-bill-health-effects/)** > > The Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent, but many sleep experts argue that the U.S. should adopt year-round standard time. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/104 "2022-03-17T08:09:27Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Do people not understand that the annoying part of the time change is (mostly) not physically changing clocks? It’s that you get an hour less sleep! I can’t say that the change is big enough for me to have ever noticed physically at all. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/105 "2022-03-17T08:23:05Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Do people not understand that the annoying part of the time change is (mostly) not physically changing clocks? It’s that you get an hour less sleep! It’s like a small jetlag twice a year. Some (most) of us don’t have a fixed work schedule and have to get “a small jetlag” three or four times a _week_, so you’ll forgive my lack of empathy for those who are so lucky as to only have to deal with it twice a year. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/106 "2022-03-17T10:30:44Z")
They should just abolish solar time entirely and go with UTC. Local municipalities can just say “work and school starts at 3PM because that’s when the sun rises here.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/107 "2022-03-17T11:03:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We live four miles from the 49th Parallel, so in Summer the Sun will still be up until about 9:30 at night. Some people have jobs and have to get up early. Who wants to go to bed when the Sun is still out? Year-round DST is a stupid idea. If you’re going to keep one time, make it Standard time. Because, you know, it’s standard. I absolutely agree with this. Standard time is meant to more or less relate to the position of the sun in the sky. Daylight Saving time is a purely artificial perversion of that in order to provide what some perceive as summertime benefits. I’m fine with the present system, and I could accept permanent Standard time, but permanent DST is the work of Satan. So is sunshine at 9:30 at night unless you’re in the high Arctic. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/108 "2022-03-17T11:12:33Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Daylight Saving time is a purely artificial perversion of that in order to provide what some perceive as summertime benefits. I’m fine with the present system, and I could accept permanent Standard time, but permanent DST is the work of Satan. I’m not exactly crazy about permanent Standard Time either - here in WA we’d have daybreak around 3 AM in June. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/109 "2022-03-17T11:20:31Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Why would driving in dark during the morning be _more_ of a hardship than driving home during the afternoon in the dark typically is, in your opinion? Working in schools taught me that there is a significant number of parents who don’t want their kids traveling to school in the dark. Our elementary students are here by 8:00 am and, for a couple of months a year, the sun doesn’t rise until then if you keep DST. Many high schools have kids arriving at 7:30 or even 7:00 am. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/110 "2022-03-17T11:41:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I can’t say that the change is big enough for me to have ever noticed physically at all. It’s clear that it effects some people much more than others. I’ve heard others on this board say it takes them weeks to adjust. Me? I’m like you. I didn’t even realize there was a change this weekend (as in, literally did not know until Monday – I was not at home to see some clocks off my iPhone clock). Some of us are just much more used to adjusting to time changes (because we travel or used to travel a lot, across multiple time zones, or because of, as mentioned, shifting work schedules). Or our bodies are just different biologically (I don’t have anything resembling a normal sleep schedule in terms of when I go to sleep, say. It may be 10 p.m.; it may be 1 a.m. I don’t feel sleepy at a consistent hour. I have to wake up at 6:30, though, so that’s controlled by the alarm, but on weekends when I don’t have a set time to wake up, it can vary from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/111 "2022-03-17T11:46:00Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > They should just abolish solar time entirely and go with UTC. Local municipalities can just say “work and school starts at 3PM because that’s when the sun rises here.” Yes, except let’s get rid of AM/PM as well. So school starts at 15:00 here in California. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/112 "2022-03-17T12:08:30Z")
I guess I’m an outlier. I HATE having it already light out when I get up. Even dawnish. I’ve been getting up in the pitch black for at least 30 years. So does my Wife. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/113 "2022-03-17T12:23:30Z")
This is garbage and just a boondoggle so Congress can pretend they’re doing something to help Americans. The only reason it passed unanimously in the Senate is because either: A. The overlords don’t mind B. There’s a deal for the House not to pass it Can’t there be a permanent time setting for something in between DST and standard? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/114 "2022-03-17T12:31:44Z")
I’d much prefer a permanent move to Local Solar Time. It was good enough for my great-great-grand-pappy so it’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/115 "2022-03-17T12:37:04Z")
And another thing! Maybe we could get more time to do stuff after work/before sunset if we had more reasonable work schedules or a little more time off or a 4-day work week. That’s what IMO would lead to health and quality of life improvements for millions of Americans, but that will never happen because corporations are against it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/116 "2022-03-17T13:46:40Z")
It’s the Rufus T. Firefly approach: “The Department of Labor wishes to report that the workers of Freedonia are demanding shorter hours.” “Very well, we’ll give them shorter hours. We’ll start by cutting their lunch hour to 20 minutes.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/117 "2022-03-17T14:12:06Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > And we have generally collectively decided that it’s much better to spend dark time at the end of the day than at the beginning because we are biologically inclined to align our wake cycle with the onset of sunlight. I can’t speak for everyone, but personally, it is a lot harder for me psychologically to get going in the morning if it is still dark (and, probably, colder) out than if it’s daylight. Darkness later in the day, once I’m up and moving, doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/118 "2022-03-17T14:14:08Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’d much prefer a permanent move to Local Solar Time. It was good enough for my great-great-grand-pappy so it’s good enough for me. Yea, but then there would be more train crashes. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/119 "2022-03-17T14:24:42Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Yes. And we have generally collectively decided that it’s much better to spend dark time at the end of the day than at the beginning because we are biologically inclined to align our wake cycle with the onset of sunlight. And yet the US has time zones that are more than an hour wide, but somehow that is fine while the loss of the flip back and forth between DST and standard is unworkable and will never stand? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145/120 "2022-03-17T14:39:05Z")
I don’t know how many people live on the edge of those timezones and have lots more darkness in the morning, but it’s a tiny fraction of the people who will have lots more darkness in the morning if we stay on DST in winter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-todays-unanimous-senate-approval-of-a-permanent-dst-bill-mean-its-a-fait-accompli/961145.md?page=7)