Bills Aim To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent
BALTIMORE (WJZ) – Efforts in Congress and the General Assembly want to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent.
"Once we 'spring forward,' we want to 'spring forward' and stay there. That's the goal of this bill," Maryland Sen. Justin Ready, a republican from Carroll County, said.
SB 840 and HB 1013 ask the federal government to allow Maryland to stick with DST year-round.
Under federal law, states can not unilaterally observe DST year-round. The "Sunshine Protection Act of 2021" would change that.
In Senate committee testimony Thursday, opponents advocated against permanent DST and instead for Standard Time.
"So many more Maryland students will be picked up by a bus or walk to school in the dark during the winter relative to standard time," Lisa VanBuskirk, of Start School Later Maryland, said.
Sleep psychologist Dr. Amy Wolfson, of Loyola University Maryland, studies the effects of sleep and well-being in children and adolescents.
"Yeah, it'd be great to stop changing the clocks, but Standard Time is the one many of us are arguing more for." Dr. Wolfson said. "It's going to particularly disadvantage adolescents who already are experiencing a circadian phase delay."
Among the tips Dr. Wolfson suggests ahead of Sunday's DST time change, she says you should: go to bed earlier the days leading up to the change; maintain a consistent sleep/wake schedule in the days after the change; avoid long naps; and, get natural sunlight in the morning.
Previous efforts to switch Maryland to permanent DST failed.
