We live in a fractured world. Every day, news headlines come out about how divided, polarized and disjointed our society is. There is little we can discuss without it becoming an argument. There is even less we can agree on. But still, there is one topic that serves as a shining beacon of collective harmony. One topic that appeals to all of our underlying base humanity. One topic that we all mostly agree on.
We all hate daylight savings time.
The random hour switch annoys all of us. It seems like whichever direction we switch, we are always tired and confused the next day. And there’s always one clock we forget to change for several weeks. This situation can be especially hard on teenagers, many of whom already don’t get enough sleep. According to the CDC, in 2021, 88% of high school students didn’t get enough sleep.
The thing is, neither system of time seems clearly to be the better one. When it is not daylight savings, the sun sets too early in the day. After a long, tiring day of school or work, it’s demoralizing for the sun to have already set as soon as one leaves. It seems like a small thing, but it’s the kind of small thing that makes the whole winter feel drearier. On the other hand, it isn’t exactly nice to wake up in the morning and have it feel like the middle of the night. It makes the mornings feel dark and gloomy.
Daylight savings seems like an unfixable problem. It seems like a choice between two evils. But it is actually a solution to a much deeper societal problem.
The solution is to stick with the daylight savings schedule of later sunrises and sunsets, and simultaneously make high school start an hour later. The CDC endorses later school start times, stating, “Good sleep hygiene, combined with later school times, helps adolescents be healthier and be better academic achievers.” The teen brain is wired to stay up and sleep in late; melatonin doesn’t release until later at night. Teens shouldn’t be on the sleep schedule that a regular school schedule puts them on, and we have the opportunity to fix it.
Imagine what the world could be like if the next generation is well rested throughout their high school years. A generation of mentally and physically healthy people, who had the energy in high school to be ready to learn. A generation of people who saw the sun every morning and evening. A less fractured, less polarized and more united generation.
