Poll an indication America is done changing clocks

It’s time for nation to move on from twice-a-year process

Across most of the nation this weekend, Americans will roll their clocks back an hour as daylight saving time comes to an end. But not here in Arizona. Thankfully, we don’t follow that tradition, which is awesome because changing the clocks twice a year and adjusting one’s sleep schedules is a bit of a pain.

It turns out, much of the nation agrees with that sentiment.

According to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 7 in 10 Americans would prefer not to change the clock back and forth twice a year.

The survey is a little more complicated when people were asked which time they preferred. Four in 10 Americans would like to stay on standard time year round, while 3 in 10 prefer to stay on daylight saving time, the AP reports.

Just three in 10 prefer switching back and forth, with daylight saving time in the summer and standard time in the winter.

Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which mandated the “spring forward” and “fall back” changes twice a year, except in Arizona and Hawaii.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, daylight savings time has the “effect of creating more sunlit hours in the evening during the months when the weather is the warmest.” The agency notes, “The transition from standard time to daylight savings time has the effect of moving one hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.”

Part of the goal is to help keep the hours of daylight coordinated with the time that most people are active, and supporters feel that saves energy, as more people tend to be outside in the spring and the summer months.

However, given the results of the survey, it may be time to leave that idea behind. The AP notes that at least seven state legislatures have backed asking Congress to allow year-round daylight saving time in the past few years. If the poll is any indication, America is ready to leave time alone.

Either way, here in Arizona, we don’t have to worry about it. And for that, we are thankful.

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?