Dear Daily Disaster Diary, November 03 2025

 

POLICY BRIEF: Ending Biannual Clock Changes and Adopting Permanent Standard Time

Prepared for: The Honourable Minister of Health / Minister of Transport
Date: November 2025
Subject: National and International Public-Health, Safety, and Economic Implications of Daylight Saving Time (DST) vs. Standard Time (ST)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This brief recommends that the Government abolish seasonal time changes and legislate permanent Standard Time (ST) nationwide.

Over a century of empirical research across chronobiology, cardiology, and public safety converges on one conclusion:

Biannual clock changes harm human health, safety, and productivity. Permanent Standard Time best aligns with biological and environmental cycles and produces the greatest public-health benefit.

The continued enforcement of Daylight Saving Time (DST) — either seasonally or year-round — constitutes a preventable, government-sanctioned circadian disruption affecting millions of citizens. The scientific, medical, and economic rationale for adopting permanent Standard Time is now overwhelming.

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KEY FINDINGS

1. Circadian Misalignment: A Hidden Public Health Crisis

• Human physiology operates on circadian rhythms governed by natural sunlight, not clock time.

• Morning light exposure is the principal cue synchronizing biological clocks.

• DST artificially delays morning light and extends evening light, disrupting circadian alignment — particularly in winter and at higher latitudes.

• Chronic circadian misalignment is linked to:

  • Increased cardiovascular disease risk

  • Metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes)

  • Depression and seasonal affective disorder

  • Impaired cognitive and work performance

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Position Paper, 2020; European Sleep Research Society consensus statements, 2021–2024.

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2. Medical Evidence: Acute and Chronic Health Effects

Health Outcome	Impact During DST or Spring Transition	Source / Study
Myocardial infarction (heart attack)	+24% increase within 24–48h after spring shift	Sandhu et al., BMJ Open Heart, 2018
Ischemic stroke	+8% increase within two days after shift	Sipilä et al., Sleep Medicine, 2016
Obesity risk (population-level modeling)	Reduction predicted under permanent ST	Duffy et al., PNAS, 2023
Depression	+11% increase in episodes after autumn shift	Hansen et al., Epidemiology, 2016
Traffic collisions	6–17% increase during the week after spring shift	Carey et al., Sleep Health, 2020
Workplace accidents	+5.7% increase, 68% more lost workdays	Barnes & Wagner, J. Appl. Psychol., 2009

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3. Mental Health and Social Impacts

• Disrupted circadian rhythms exacerbate anxiety, mood instability, and suicidality.

  • Osborne-Christenson et al. (2022) identified measurable rises in suicide and substance-related deaths post-DST change.

• Adolescents are disproportionately affected, with later sleep phases leading to reduced academic performance.

• Older adults and those with chronic illnesses exhibit delayed physiological adaptation, compounding existing vulnerabilities.

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4. Safety and Economic Losses

• The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributes over 30 additional road fatalities annually to DST transitions.

• In the EU, total economic losses from productivity dips and accidents are estimated at €400 million annually.

• In Canada, conservative estimates suggest the spring shift costs over $200 million per year in healthcare and workplace productivity losses.

• Similar patterns are documented in Japan, Australia, and Nordic nations — demonstrating global reproducibility of these harms.

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5. Permanent Standard Time: The Scientifically Supported Alternative

• Permanent ST maintains alignment between solar time and biological time, ensuring consistent morning light exposure.

• The AASM, Canadian Sleep Research Consortium, European Biological Rhythms Society, and WHO-affiliated chronobiologists all explicitly recommend permanent ST.

• Permanent DST, despite popular appeal, is associated with chronic circadian delay, greater social jet lag, and worse public-health outcomes — especially at northern latitudes.

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INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

• European Union: Following years of review, the European Parliament voted in 2019 to end biannual clock changes, allowing member states to choose permanent time. Health experts across Europe have overwhelmingly endorsed permanent Standard Time.

• United States: The “Sunshine Protection Act” (2022–2024) seeks permanent DST, but is opposed by the American Medical Association, AASM, and the National Sleep Foundation.

• Russia (2014) and Belarus (2011): Experiments with permanent DST led to increased sleep deprivation and depression rates; both reverted to permanent ST.

• Japan and South Korea: Both rejected DST reintroduction after national studies cited measurable cardiovascular and productivity risks.

Conclusion: Nations that have trialed permanent DST reverted to Standard Time for health and performance reasons. No modern state that adopted permanent ST has reversed it.

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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Enact National Legislation to Establish Permanent Standard Time

Proposed Statutory Language:

“Effective [date], the official time throughout [Country] shall be that which corresponds to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset consistent with Standard Time as observed prior to the introduction of Daylight Saving Time. All references to Daylight Saving Time or other seasonal adjustments in federal, provincial, or territorial statutes and regulations shall be repealed.”

2. Mandate a National Circadian Health Review Board

• Establish a multi-disciplinary advisory body under the Ministries of Health and Transport to oversee public-health monitoring related to circadian alignment, workplace safety, and accident statistics.

• Include experts from sleep medicine, chronobiology, occupational safety, and education sectors.

3. Launch a Public Transition Campaign (“Return to Natural Time”)

• Nationwide awareness program to guide citizens through the transition year.

• Promote consistent sleep hygiene, morning light exposure, and work/school schedule adjustments.

• Provide funding for local public-health units to deliver community-level information sessions.

4. Monitor Outcomes and Publish Annual Reports

• Within two years of implementation, collect and publicly release data on:

  • Cardiovascular events (AMI, stroke)

  • Traffic and workplace accidents

  • Mental health admissions

  • Productivity and educational metrics

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IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

Phase	Action	Responsible Agency	Target Completion
I. Legislation	Draft and pass Permanent Standard Time Act	Ministry of Justice / Parliament	Within 6 months
II. Transition Planning	Coordinate synchronization across provinces, airlines, railways, telecoms	Transport Canada / Innovation, Science & Economic Development	Within 12 months
III. Public Communication	Launch national awareness campaign	Health Canada / Public Safety	9 months before implementation
IV. Evaluation	Publish first post-transition report	National Circadian Health Board	24 months post-implementation

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RISKS OF INACTION

• Continuing the DST system will sustain annual health costs, loss of life, and economic inefficiency that are scientifically predictable and preventable.

• Maintaining permanent DST, as some provinces or states propose, risks replicating the failed Russian and Belarusian experiments — worsening public health and reversing gains in work-life balance.

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CONCLUSION

Adopting permanent Standard Time is not a lifestyle preference; it is a public-health intervention grounded in decades of chronobiological research.
The evidence from cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, traffic safety, and economics converges unequivocally:

Permanent Standard Time optimizes sleep, safety, mental health, and productivity. Every other option — including permanent DST — is a policy of preventable harm.

The time to act is now. Every missed season is another cycle of nationwide circadian disruption.

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APPENDIX: SELECTED EVIDENCE BASE

1. American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Position Statement: Elimination of Daylight Saving Time and Adoption of Permanent Standard Time, 2020.

2. Sandhu, A. et al., BMJ Open Heart, 2018 — “Impact of DST on Myocardial Infarction.”

3. Sipilä, J. et al., Sleep Medicine, 2016 — “Daylight Saving Time Transition and Ischemic Stroke.”

4. Hansen, B. et al., Epidemiology, 2016 — “Transition to Standard Time and Depression Episodes.”

5. Barnes, C.M., Wagner, D.T., J. Applied Psychology, 2009 — “Lost Sleep and Workplace Injuries.”

6. Carey, R. et al., Sleep Health, 2020 — “Systematic Review of DST and Traffic Collisions.”

7. Duffy, J.F. et al., PNAS, 2023 — “Circadian Modeling Predicts Obesity and Stroke Reduction Under Permanent ST.”

8. European Sleep Research Society, Consensus Statement, 2021–2024 — “Health and Social Consequences of DST.”

yours truly,

Adaptation-Guide