HIGH POINT, N.C. (NCN News) – There’s more talk about time – with everyone turning their timepieces back one hour early Sunday Morning.
In a recent High Point University Poll, 40% of adults in North Carolina favored switching to year-round daylight-saving time, which would result in more evening daylight. However, 18% of North Carolinians favored changing to year-round standard time, which would result in an earlier sunrise and less evening daylight.
Nearly a third (32%) of North Carolinians preferred keeping the current system, where time jumps ahead an hour in the spring and falls back an hour in the fall to preserve daylight hours. Just less than one in 10 (9%) felt unsure about this topic of switching between standard time and daylight-saving time, which ends again at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Daylight-saving time changes can disrupt the body’s natural cycle, said Dr. Racquel Ingram, founding dean of HPU’s Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing.
“Shifting between daylight-saving time and standard time can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm and affect physical and mental health,” Ingram said. “The change may disturb sleep, contributing to fatigue, depression, cardiovascular events and other health concerns. These effects are often strongest in the first few weeks, so preparing in advance can ease the adjustment.”
HPU Poll 113 reported similar results last November, with 40% of respondents indicating they wanted to switch to year-round daylight-saving time, 11% preferring year-round standard time, 23% desiring to keep the current system, and 25% were unsure.
“There are costs and benefits,” said Dr. Jerry Fox, chair of the Department of Economics within HPU’s Earl N. Phillips School of Business. “Year-round daylight-saving time (DST) eliminates twice-a-year clock changes. It trades late-afternoon daylight for winter morning darkness. Having more sunlight later in the day allows people to be outside and drive home in the daylight. This could reduce evening car accidents and crime. However, permanent DST could disturb the body’s natural rhythm. Morning darkness makes it harder to wake up and could lead to more sleep fatigue. It also creates safety hazards for morning driving and for kids waiting for the school bus in the dark.”