The daylight saving debate has turned decidedly one-sided,
according to a recent Rasmussen report that shows that Americans no longer see value in the annual moving of the clocks.
The March survey showed that only 33 percent of Americans believed that daylight saving time served a purpose, down from 37 percent in 2013 and 47 percent in 2012.
Hillary Barile, of Rabbit Hill Farms in
New Jersey, told the South Jersey Times that the main argument for daylight saving time — that it's beneficial during farming season — is no longer relevant.
"There's still the same number of daylight hours, but I would say this time of year makes it even harder," Barile said. "We don't have as many evening daylight hours left and you're still constrained by the clock, but now it just gets darker earlier. You don't always know until you get started in the morning what you need to do, so having morning daylight doesn't always make a difference."
Dr. Sean Duffy, an associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University-Camden, told the South Jersey Times that switching hours could hurt natural sleeping schedules for people with sensitive sleeping patterns. He said that could affect learning and memory processes by changing the way that the brain functions.
"Sleep is a critical process for the whole body, helping it repair damage, but particularly for the brain, which consolidates memory and helps us learn," Duffy said. "Most people can handle the one hour switch of daylight saving time but if you are prone to sleep disorders or insomnia, the change in timing can take some adjustment."
The Christian Science Monitor reported that Alabama State Sen. Rusty Glover has written a bill that would end daylight saving time in that state.
"I have heard from constituents and businesses from around the state for years about this issue," Glover said in a release. "Our legislation will make sure that children riding the late afternoon school bus, or working people who get off at 5 o'clock, won't have to come home in the dark. It's time to move on."
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