Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Springing Forward An Hour Leaves Americans Tired, Grumpy And Prone To Heart Attacks. Will Standard Time Ever Go Away?
The Washington Post: Springing Forward To Daylight Saving Time Is Obsolete, Confusing And Unhealthy, Critics Say
This weekend, Americans will once again navigate their complex relationship with the chronically confusing and arguably misnamed daylight saving time. In most of the United States, the clocks spring forward early Sunday when 2 a.m. suddenly becomes 3 a.m. People are advised to avoid scheduling anything important for 2:30 a.m. Sunday, since, by law, such a moment does not exist. But the law may change. The national policy of switching from standard time to daylight saving time and back again is under legislative challenge from coast to coast. (Achenbach, 3/8)
The New York Times: Daylight Saving Is Here. Suppose We Made This Time Change Our Last?
A day is a day, with so many hours of darkness and so many of light. It’s a hard reality that no powerful king or brilliant philosopher has ever found a way around. And yet, every year, bless our hearts, we try. Compelled by the augustly named federal Uniform Time Act of 1966, most Americans will leap ahead — or stumble blearily — from one configuration of the clock to another this weekend, as daylight saving time clicks in at 2 a.m. Sunday. (Johnson, 3/9)
The Associated Press: Washington House OKs Step Toward Year-Round Daylight Saving
As daylight saving time is set to take effect in most of the U.S. this weekend, the Washington House passed a measure Saturday that would make those later sunsets permanent in the state all year — if Congress allows it. The measure passed the chamber on an 89-7 vote and now heads to the Senate, which has its own bill on the topic. The vote comes as more than two dozen states are considering measures to avoid the twice-yearly clock change. (3/9)
