Home Health Americans weigh in on Trump’s daylight saving time policy that would directly affect nearly all American citizens.

Americans weigh in on Trump’s daylight saving time policy that would directly affect nearly all American citizens.

0 comments
Americans weigh in on Trump's daylight saving time policy that would directly affect nearly all American citizens.

Nearly half of Americans would support Donald Trump’s plan to abolish daylight saving time, an exclusive DailyMail.com poll has revealed.

The JL Partners survey found that 48 percent of respondents would strongly or somewhat support eliminating the twice-yearly time change.

By comparison, only 19 percent said they would oppose abandoning the practice, while 33 percent said they were neutral or had no opinion.

Trump has suggested he will “eliminate” the practice during his second term, calling it “inconvenient and very costly to our nation.”

Only two US states do not observe daylight saving time: Arizona and Hawaii. Both opted not to participate, arguing in part that their constant sunrise and sunset times made it unnecessary.

Daylight saving time was first introduced in 1918 to provide more daylight at night in a bid to improve workforce productivity.

Clocks go forward one hour at 1 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and go back one hour at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

But a growing body of evidence shows that daylight saving time is linked to an increase in heart attacks and strokes, insomnia, mental health problems, suicides, car accidents and even cancer.

Losing an hour of sleep when the clocks tick causes surges in inflammation, stress hormones, and exhaustion, increasing your risk for numerous health conditions.

A study that tracked hospital admissions across the state of Michigan found that those for heart attacks increased 24 percent on the Monday following the change to daylight saving time.

And another study from Finland found that the overall risk of stroke increased by eight percent during the first two days after the clock change.

Deaths from traffic accidents are also increasing. Studies have found a six percent increase in fatal crashes after the time change.

There is also limited evidence that daylight saving time causes an increase in suicidal behavior and mortality in the days after the time change.

The DailyMail.com survey was conducted by JL Partners and involved a representative sample of 1,009 Americans.

It took place between January 10 and 12 this year, and voters were interviewed for more than 15 minutes on a variety of topics after being recruited online.

The results also showed that, by age group, those over 65 were the most likely to support the change: 54 percent supported ditching daylight saving time compared to 38 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds .

By political party, it was estimated that 54 percent of Republicans would support the policy compared to 45 percent of Democrats.

Many find it very disturbing when clocks go forward an hour in March, forcing them to adjust their sleep schedule from several days to a week.

During this time, they may go to bed later and wake up earlier than usual, causing lack of sleep and increasing the risk of complications.

Daylight saving time has also always made less sense in the southern states because their sunlight is reasonably constant year-round.

Daylight saving time was implemented nationwide in the US in 1918 during World War I as an effort to save one hour of fuel each day.

It was repealed in 1919, but then reinstated in 1942, when the United States entered World War II.

Some states and cities continued to enforce it twice a year afterward, resulting in what became known as “clock chaos,” before the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966, which standardized daylight saving time throughout the country.

Today, 48 of the 50 US states follow the time change, except Arizona and Hawaii, where sunrise and sunset are more consistent year-round.

Globally, 61 countries and territories use daylight saving time, including the United Kingdom and many US allies in Europe.

You may also like