Public Opinion
Many politicians assume the public prefers Daylight Saving Time, but data and history indicate otherwise. Preference between the two times is rarely asked, and polls depend heavily on how and when they’re conducted. Most people don’t know which time is which (granted, it can be confusing). Many who think they prefer DST usually just prefer summer’s naturally longer days, without realizing how dark winter mornings would be under permanent DST.1234
Recent scientific polling shows the growing plurality of Americans support permanent Standard Time, not permanent DST. In 2025, Gallup found 48% for permanent Standard Time, 24% for permanent DST, and 19% for the status quo.5 In 2021, AP-NORC found 43% for permanent Standard Time, 32% for permanent DST, and 25% for the status quo.6 In 2019, AP-NORC found 40% for permanent Standard Time, 31% for permanent DST, and 28% for the status quo.7
The majority worldwide clearly wish to stop changing clocks as soon as possible (93% in a 2019 governmental poll of 223,273 British Columbians;8 84% in a 2018 governmental poll of 4.6M Europeans;9101112 67% in a 2018 scientific poll of 600 Pacific Northwesterners;13 60% in California’s 2018 Prop 7 ballot measure;214).
History has shown when public opinion favors permanent DST before enactment, support quickly reverses to opposition after DST’s long, dark winter mornings are experienced. This happened most clearly in the US in 1974, when support for permanent DST dropped from 79% to 42% in a matter of months. Similar outcomes occurred in the UK in 1971, and in Russia in 2014.2151617181920
Public opinion demands we stop changing clocks now. The quickest, easiest, safest way is to restore permanent Standard Time. Moreover, public health demands we both stop changing clocks now and choose permanent Standard Time. Public health must take precedence over shifting public opinion of the two clocks.21621
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Works Cited
1Springing Forward to Daylight Saving Time Is Obsolete, Confusing and Unhealthy, Critics SayThe Washington Post
2Why Standard Time Is BetterMedium.com
3Time to Change—But Only to ‘Wintertime’Daylight Academy
4Just 33% See the Purpose of Daylight Saving TimeRasmussen Reports
5More Than Half in US Want Daylight Saving Time SunsettedGallup
6Dislike for Changing the Clocks PersistsThe Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
7Daylight Saving Time vs Standard TimeThe Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
8Sleep Expert Says B.C. Should Stay on Standard Time Rather Than Switch to Daylight SavingGlobal News
9Do We Still Need Daylight Saving Time?Mother Nature Network
10Summertime Consultation: 84% Want Europe to Stop Changing the ClockEuropean Commission
11EU Will Let Countries Decide Whether to Use Daylight SavingThe New York Times
12Time to Show Leadership on the Daylight Saving Time DebateJournal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
13Residents Face Setbacks When It’s Time to Spring ForwardPEMCO Insurance
14Daylight Saving Time Will Continue in California for Now, as Lawmaker Delays BillMerced Sun–Star
15Russia: Putin Abolishes ‘Daylight Savings’ Time ChangeBBC News
16Why Proposition 7 Is Bad for Public HealthMedium.com
17Health Risk Warnings Ignored as B.C. Moves to Permanent Daylight Time, Researchers SayCBC
18Time to Ditch Daylight Saving Time—It’s a Killer That Doesn’t Save EnergyInvestor’s Business Daily
19Senate Votes Return to Standard Time for Four Months and Sends Bill to FordThe New York Times
20British Summer Time: Why Do We Change the Clocks?Yorkshire Evening Post
21Daylight Saving Time and Artificial Time Zones – A Battle Between Biological and Social TimesFrontiers in Physiology