The American Academy of Sleep Medicine criticized the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), which would make daylight saving time permanent.
The House passed the act on July 14.
“On Tuesday, the U.S. House ignored the overwhelming evidence supporting the health and safety benefits of permanent standard time and instead chose to force dark, dangerous mornings on millions of Americans who will suffer the effects,” said Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg, M.D., FAASM, FAAN, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in a July 15 news announcement. “We call on the Senate to reject this dangerous mandate.”
The Sunshine Protection Act seeks to make daylight saving time permanent except in states that adopted permanent standard time before the effective date of the bill.
British Columbia changed to permanent daylight saving time during the “spring forward” time change on March 8, 2026.
Sleep clinicians have long opposed efforts to permanently adopt daylight saving time. They’ve advocated instead for permanent standard time.
“Permanent daylight saving time would cause misalignment with human circadian rhythms, which are crucial for regulating sleep, mood, and overall well-being,” the AASM said in its announcement. “This biological misalignment would lead to chronic sleep deprivation and other health complications. It would also raise public safety concerns by increasing the risk of traffic accidents and pedestrian deaths, particularly for children waiting for school buses and walking to school in the dark.”
The AASM added that research “has linked the switch to daylight saving time in the spring” with heightened risk for accidents, cardiovascular events and mood disturbances. The organization noted that permanent standard time “more closely aligns with the sun and is the healthier, safer choice.”
The association supports the bipartisan H.R. 9638, also known as the Sunshine for Our Kids Act “and will advocate for a similar bill to be introduced in the Senate. This legislation would implement permanent standard time, but it would also allow states to choose permanent daylight saving time even after the bill goes into effect.”
