‘Ditch the Switch’ could end moving clock back or forward an hour twice per year

One could safely presume extra caffeine was consumed Monday when people were still feeling the effect of Sunday morning.

And many of us probably still have clocks yet to be reset to reflect Daylight Saving Time.

Ironically, Roxanne Prichard did just that to a clock before exiting a State Capitol hearing room on Tuesday.

The University of St. Thomas psychology professor was there to support a bill that would recognize federal standard time year-round, or as Jay Pea, the president of Save Standard Time, deftly summarizes it: “Ditch the Switch.”

Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL-Golden Valley) sponsors HF1944, that, as amended, was held over by the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee for future consideration.

Rep. Mike Freiberg

“Under federal law, states have the authority to go to standard time permanently, and that’s what states like Arizona do,” he said. “However, states do not have the authority to go to Daylight Saving Time permanently.”

He’d prefer the latter, but his larger goal is to get rid of the biyearly time change.

“This bill authorizes permanent standard time until Congress gives us authority to permanently adopt Daylight Saving Time at which point we will change our clocks one last time,” Freiberg said.

Prichard, also a neuroscientist who studies how to remove barriers to good sleep, would prefer standard time. “It keeps high noon as noon, a point where the sun is directly overhead, resulting in it being easier to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.”

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “Body clocks set by morning sun are essential for physical, mental, and brain health. Daylight saving time deprives people of morning sunlight and the opportunity to optimize their sleep.”

And, Prichard added, “We know that when we switch to Daylight Saving Time there are more heart attacks, there are more car accidents, there are more cases of insomnia.”

[MORE: Read testimony from other supporters]

Per the National Sleep Foundation: “Daylight Saving Time began during World War I when the United States decided to move forward an hour to save electricity in the evening. The current federal policy was enacted in 1966 as the Uniform Time Act. … While originally enacted to save energy by ensuring more daylight in the evening hours, some studies of DST have called into question the degree of energy savings.”