Stop the Clock Change: Why We Need to Stay on Natural Time

It’s almost the time of the year again, the day in autumn when the clocks turn back to natural time. Every year, millions of people groan, lose sleep, and wonder, why are we still changing our clocks to daylight saving time in the summer?

The seasonal clock change is one of those traditions that perhaps made sense once upon a time but no longer serves us. In fact, modern science is increasingly clear: switching the clocks twice a year disrupts our health, our productivity, and even our safety.

It’s time, literally, to stop the time shift and stay aligned with natural time. The clock change at the end of October, which returns us to natural time, is necessary, and from now on we should never switch again to the unnatural daylight saving time.

What is natural time?

Natural time (standard time) is the rhythm that best matches the solar day — when the sun reaches its highest point around noon, and our biological clocks follow light and darkness as nature intended.

Our bodies run on circadian rhythms, internal 24-hour cycles that control sleep, hormones, mood, alertness and more. These rhythms are set primarily by sunlight. When our social clock (the clock on the wall) doesn’t match the solar clock (what the sun says), our rhythms falls out of sync, also known as a jet lag.

Standard time keeps us closest to the sun’s natural rhythm. Daylight Saving Time pushes us artificially ahead, a full hour of social jet lag that lasts for months.

Energy savings, the original reason for daylight savings time , are negligible today, while the costs to our health are undeniable.

In short, permanent natural time is healthier, safer, and more humane.