Why Are Sunrises So Important?

[L]ack of morning light can have serious impact on our biological clocks, which control the body’s many daily rhythms, including our sleep and wakefulness cycle. Hu­mans require adequate morning light so that our internal biological rhythms synchronize properly to the local time. There’s a wealth of data demonstrating that a lack of exposure to light leads to sleep and metabolic disorders, depression and cardiovascular disease, among other ailments… Permanent Stand­ard Time is the only fair and viable option.

—Gene Block MS PhD (Chancellor of UCLA) & Johanna Meijer PhD (Neurology Professor at Leiden University Medical Center) Read More: ucla­.edu

[E]xperts in biological rhythms and sleep unanimously agree that Stand­ard Time year-round is the best option for public health and safety… If DST is kept year-round, sunrise would be later in the winter, leading to decreased exposure to morning sunlight… [C]hildren will have to commute to school in the dark for about a third of the school year. Our body’s internal biological clock needs exposure to morning light. When exposure to sunlight in the morning is reduced, our biological clock drifts later, making it harder to wake up and causing an increased mismatch between the body clock and local time (a condition called social jetlag). DST also exposes people to more evening light, which further delays the biological clock and makes it more difficult to fall asleep… As experts in circadian biology, sleep, mental health and safety, we understand that removing the time change in favour of permanent Stand­ard Time is the preferred option.

—Myriam Juda PhD (Researcher at Simon Fraser University) et al Read More: er­go­nom­ics­can­a­da­.ca

With Stand­ard Time, the start of the working day more or less aligns with sunrise and ends with sunset… As long as we can see natural light, our body clock aligns to the sun clock… [D]isconnect between what time our body clock thinks it is and the actual local time has effects that are similar to chronic jetlag. More and more studies show this mismatch can affect our health, leading to chronic fatigue and depression and increased risks of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease and possibly some types of can­cer… Abolishing Daylight Saving Time and remaining on Stand­ard Time will ensure that the sunrise in wintertime will occur before most people travel to work or school. As such, individuals on their commute will be exposed to the morning light that is essential for the daily adjustment of our body clocks to the sun clock. Without this morning “light kick”, our body clocks will drift and will no longer perform efficiently across the day.

—Annie Curtis PhD (Pharmacy & Bio­mo­lec­u­lar Sciences Lecturer at the Royal Col­lege of Sur­geons in Ireland) Read More: irish­times­.com

DST leads to decreased exposure to morning sunlight… When the exposure to sunlight in the morning is reduced, our biological clocks will drift later and later, making it harder to wake up… DST leads to sleep loss and a mismatch between the body clock and local time (also called social jetlag). Both sleep deprivation and social jetlag have negative effects on physical and mental health, including increased risks for diabetes, obesity, heart disease, depression, and some forms of can­cer… DST means that we wake up in darkness and are exposed to more evening light, especially in the western parts of each of the time zones… This makes waking up more difficult for everyone, from school kids to adults, and is likely to worsen conditions such as seasonal affective disorders… Bright­er days and darker nights are critical for a healthier population year round. Thus, DST should be abolished, and we as biological rhythms experts clearly favor permanent Stand­ard Time (when the clock times matches sun times).

—Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (representing over 700 scientists from over 40 countries) Read More: srbr­.org

[P]ermanent Daylight Saving Time is a cure that is worse than the disease… Getting up too early in the wintertime increases depression, can­cer, and obesity. Year-round Daylight Saving Time would make people wake up earlier than sunrise through the entire winter, with most people driving to work before sunrise. An inflexible daily work and school schedule forces people to get up before the sun, which disrupts the body’s daily cycle, known as a circadian rhythm… [W]e need light in the morning… [F]or each 20 minutes of later sunrise, breast and prostate can­cer increase by 4%, leukemia around 12%, and uterine can­cer by 10%. A second study reviewing nearly 60,000 cases found a 7% increase in liver can­cer for every 20 minutes later sunrise… In 2011, Russia switched clocks to year-round “summer time.” It was initially popular, but three years later only a third of Russians wanted to keep the system and it was abolished… Evidence is strong that Stand­ard Time year-round is better for sleep, heart health, and healthy weight. It would reduce can­cer incidence and improve psychological well-being of the population as a whole. Rather than chasing an illusion of permanent summer, voters should insist on a scientifically supported solution that benefits public health.

—Michael Herf (President of f.lux software) & Travis Longcore PhD (Pro­fes­sor of En­vi­ron­men­tal Sci­ence at UCLA) Read More: medium­.com