As the nation recovers from its collective hangover following the beginning of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind efforts to place the United States on permanent DST.
“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!” the president tweeted Monday morning.
In November, California voters approved a bill that would allow Daylight Saving Time going year-round in the state. The bill requires a two-third vote of approval by the legislature as well as permission from Congress before they can make the switch. Florida lawmakers, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced legislation in Congress this month that would end the change between Daylight Saving Time and standard time.
"The Sunshine Protection Act will allow Floridians and visitors to enjoy our beautiful state even later in the day, and will benefit Florida’s tourism industry, which just celebrated another record year," Scott said in a statement Wednesday.
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by the President who endorsed keeping the country on the hour ahead on Monday morning.
Critics of the annual time switch say there isn't much benefit for people to skip forward in time and in fact, can be blamed for many health problems. Sleep disruption and general confusion are the most common side effects of the switch. Researchers have found that indicidents of depression go up with one study published in Europe, discovering a "modest" rise in heart attacks in the week after the time switch.
Daylight Savings Time was created during World War I to help the nation save energy for the war effort. Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states who do not recognize Daylight Saving Time.
However, until a bill doing away with Daylight Saving is passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president, you can look forward to catching up on sleep on November 3rd. Until then, might we suggest taking part in #NationalNappingDay?