As President Donald Trump presses Congress to adopt permanent daylight saving time, sleep researchers and medical organizations warn that year-round standard time better supports children’s development, healthy sleep patterns and the body’s natural biological clock.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump’s effort to establish permanent daylight saving time faces growing scrutiny over its potential consequences for children’s health, school safety and the body’s circadian rhythms, as medical organizations recommend permanent standard time instead, citing scientific evidence that morning sunlight is essential for healthy sleep and biological functioning.
Clocks across most of the United States moved back one hour Sunday, Nov. 1, restoring standard time. However, legislation approved by the House of Representatives in July could reverse that change before winter ends if the Senate approves the measure without modifying its effective date.
The Sunshine Protection Act, which passed the House on July 14 by a 308-117 vote, would eliminate the twice-yearly clock changes by making daylight saving time permanent nationwide, with exceptions available to states and territories already observing standard time year-round.
Although proponents emphasize longer evenings and the convenience of avoiding seasonal clock adjustments, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Medical Association and other health organizations support permanent standard time because it more closely aligns daily schedules with the natural cycle of sunlight and darkness.
Their recommendations raise questions about whether eliminating seasonal clock changes through permanent daylight saving time would produce the same health benefits as eliminating those changes through permanent standard time.
According to The Washington Post’s Nov. 1 report, the House-approved legislation contains an immediate implementation provision that could require Americans to advance their clocks again during the winter if Congress enacts it before the end of the year.
The legislation would repeal provisions of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which established the federal framework governing seasonal clock adjustments, and move the official time in participating U.S. time zones forward by one hour permanently.
That change would shift winter sunrises and sunsets one hour later on the clock. Although the total amount of daylight would remain unchanged, millions of children would begin their school days in greater darkness, particularly in northern states and communities near the western boundaries of their time zones.
The consequences for children are a central concern among sleep specialists.
In a 2024 position statement published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine concluded that permanent standard time provides the strongest alignment between human circadian biology and the external environment.
The organization determined that standard time better supports health and safety because the body’s internal clock responds to natural light-dark cycles, particularly sunlight exposure in the morning.
Circadian rhythms are approximately 24-hour biological cycles regulating sleep, wakefulness, hormone secretion, body temperature, metabolism and other essential functions.
These rhythms depend heavily on environmental light signals reaching the brain, particularly an area known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which coordinates the body’s internal timing system.
Morning sunlight helps synchronize the biological clock with the 24-hour day, supporting alertness during waking hours and the natural onset of sleep at night.
By contrast, increased exposure to light during the evening can delay the release of melatonin, the hormone involved in signaling nighttime to the body. Later melatonin production can shift sleep onset and make it more difficult to obtain sufficient rest before fixed school or work schedules.
Permanent daylight saving time would place sunrise an hour later on the clock throughout winter, potentially reducing opportunities for children and adults to receive natural morning light before beginning their daily activities.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s position statement explains that health problems can occur when the biological clock, the solar clock and the social clock governing school and work schedules become misaligned.
Such misalignment, sometimes described as social jet lag, can contribute to sleep disruption and has been associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes.
The organization therefore recommends eliminating seasonal clock changes in favor of permanent standard time rather than permanent daylight saving time.
The American Medical Association has reached the same conclusion. In its discussion of the medical case for year-round standard time, the association emphasized that the timing of sunlight exposure matters for human health, not merely the total number of daylight hours available.
Medical experts recognize that extending evening daylight can provide recreational and other benefits, but the physiological effects of morning and evening light are not interchangeable.
Children and teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to disruptions in sleep timing because adequate sleep is essential for brain development, emotional regulation, learning and physical health.
The American Academy of Pediatrics explains that seasonal clock changes can disrupt children’s sleeping patterns and leave teenagers tired, less attentive and less able to concentrate.
Research discussed by the academy found that high school students lost approximately 30 minutes of sleep per night during the week following the spring transition to daylight saving time. Students also experienced slower reaction times and difficulty maintaining attention.
Those findings are particularly relevant because adolescents naturally experience a biological shift toward later sleep and wake times during puberty.
When early school schedules require teenagers to wake before their bodies are biologically prepared, reduced sleep can affect academic performance, mental health and driving safety.
Permanent standard time would not eliminate all problems associated with early school start times, but sleep specialists consider its earlier morning sunlight more compatible with the body’s natural timing system.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has also recommended that middle and high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m., recognizing that teenagers generally require eight to 10 hours of sleep and often cannot fall asleep as early as younger children.
The organization reports that inadequate adolescent sleep is associated with impaired learning, poorer mental health, increased accident risks and metabolic health problems.
Its research summary indicates that nearly 80% of high school students do not obtain eight hours of sleep on school nights.
The effects extend beyond academic performance. Insufficient sleep can interfere with memory formation, attention, emotional stability and the ability to regulate behavior.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also warns that inadequate sleep is associated with lower academic achievement and increased school absenteeism and tardiness.
For younger children, insufficient sleep can contribute to irritability, difficulty concentrating and behavioral problems. For adolescents, chronic sleep deprivation has been associated with depression, anxiety and increased risks involving driving and other activities requiring sustained attention.
These concerns have led medical organizations to emphasize the importance of both consistent sleep schedules and adequate exposure to daylight at biologically appropriate times.
The issue also extends to cardiovascular and metabolic health.
Circadian rhythms influence blood pressure, heart rate, glucose metabolism and the release of hormones involved in appetite and energy regulation.
Disruptions to these rhythms have been associated with increased risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health conditions, although the specific long-term effects of adopting permanent daylight saving time have not been established through large-scale randomized clinical trials.
Researchers have also reported increases in certain adverse health and safety outcomes immediately following the spring clock change, including traffic accidents and heart attacks.
Those findings support eliminating abrupt seasonal adjustments, but scientists distinguish the harmful effects of changing clocks from the separate question of which time system should remain in place throughout the year.
The medical case for standard time rests primarily on its closer alignment with natural sunlight patterns and circadian biology, rather than a claim that every possible health consequence of permanent daylight saving time has been conclusively measured.
School transportation safety represents another major concern.
Under permanent daylight saving time, sunrise would occur after 9 a.m. during portions of winter in some northern communities, meaning children could be traveling to school, waiting at bus stops or beginning classes before sunrise.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has emerged as a principal opponent of the Sunshine Protection Act, arguing that the change would expose students to unnecessarily dark winter mornings.
Cotton responded publicly on X to criticism of his opposition by recalling the country’s previous experience with permanent daylight saving time.
“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark,” Cotton wrote.
The United States previously experimented with year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s energy crisis.
Congress approved the measure in December 1973, and permanent daylight saving time began in January 1974.
Public dissatisfaction increased as families encountered dark winter mornings, including concerns about children traveling to school before sunrise.
Congress subsequently amended the arrangement, allowing the country to return to standard time in October 1974, earlier than originally planned.
Although the historical experience does not establish that permanent daylight saving time is inherently unsafe under every circumstance, it remains an example cited by lawmakers who oppose repeating the policy.
Trump has nevertheless continued pressuring the Senate to approve the current legislation.
“The United States Senate is letting the Daylight Saving Bill die,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Oct. 26, urging lawmakers to bring the measure to a vote.
Earlier, on Oct. 3, Trump published Cotton’s cellphone number and encouraged supporters to contact the Arkansas senator over his opposition.
Cotton has resisted the pressure, maintaining that preserving daylight during winter mornings is preferable to establishing an hour-later clock throughout the year.
Other lawmakers have expressed similar concerns, leaving the bill without a clear path through the Senate.
The White House, however, has continued advocating permanent daylight saving time.
In a formal policy statement issued July 14, the administration argued that eliminating clock changes would save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars in time and economic value.
The statement also contended that permanent daylight saving time would provide more usable evening sunlight, encourage physical activity and potentially improve public safety.
Citing research on traffic accidents and crime, the administration said additional evening daylight could prevent hundreds of roadway deaths annually and reduce robberies.
Those arguments reflect a different set of priorities from the sleep medicine organizations recommending standard time.
Supporters of permanent daylight saving time generally emphasize recreation, commerce, after-work activity and daylight availability during evening travel. Medical organizations advocating permanent standard time place greater emphasis on biological timing, morning light exposure and healthy sleep.
Neither policy would create additional daylight. The difference concerns which hours of the day receive natural sunlight under the official clock.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told The Washington Post that Trump continues to support the Sunshine Protection Act and wants the Senate to send it to his desk.
The legislation also presents a timing problem because the United States has already returned to standard time.
If the Senate approves the House language unchanged and Trump signs the bill before Congress adjourns, participating states could be required to move their clocks forward immediately rather than waiting until spring.
Lawmakers could amend the legislation to delay implementation until March, but any changes would require additional congressional action.
Alternatively, the Senate could postpone consideration until the next daylight saving time period. That would extend beyond the current congressional session, requiring the legislation to be reintroduced and approved again.
As of Sunday, the bill remained stalled in the Senate.
Public opinion suggests considerable dissatisfaction with the current twice-yearly adjustments, although Americans remain divided over which permanent time system should replace them.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found that only 12% of American adults favored maintaining the seasonal clock changes, while 47% opposed them and 40% expressed no preference.
When asked which permanent time arrangement they would prefer, 56% selected daylight saving time and 42% chose standard time.
The survey included 1,289 adults interviewed Oct. 9-13, 2025, and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
The findings illustrate a distinction between public preferences for longer evenings and the recommendations of medical professionals studying the biological effects of light exposure.
For families, the consequences of the competing proposals would be especially noticeable during winter mornings.
Under permanent standard time, sunrise would continue occurring at its current winter clock times, allowing earlier access to natural light before school and work.
Under permanent daylight saving time, the same sunrise would appear one hour later on the clock, increasing the likelihood that students would begin their mornings in darkness.
Hawaii and most of Arizona, which already observe standard time throughout the year, would be exempt from an automatic change under the House legislation. Those jurisdictions could choose whether to retain their existing time or adopt the new permanent arrangement.
An alternative legislative proposal, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, would also eliminate seasonal clock changes but establish permanent standard time instead.
That approach aligns with the recommendations of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and other health organizations, which argue that stable schedules combined with morning sunlight offer a stronger biological foundation for healthy sleep.
It would preserve brighter winter mornings while shifting summer sunsets one hour earlier compared with current daylight saving time.
The debate therefore involves more than whether Americans should continue changing their clocks each spring and fall. It also raises questions about whether the country’s permanent time system should prioritize evening daylight or the natural timing of sunlight most closely associated with human circadian health.
For children, whose learning, behavior and development depend on adequate sleep, medical research provides substantial support for maintaining consistent schedules aligned with natural light-dark cycles.
While further research is needed to quantify the full long-term consequences of either permanent arrangement, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s assessment is that year-round standard time offers the strongest evidence-based choice for protecting circadian alignment, sleep health and public safety.
Original article
Comments