An End To Daylight Savings Time In Massachusetts?

All New Englanders will turn their clocks back within a month from now, but research shows we should think about changing that habit.

According to the Boston Globe, many Americans including people form Arizona to Hawaii, will not be turning their clocks back in November. They have all found a time that works year round for them and in New England, we also have that option. Instead of using Eastern Time Zone, we could use Atlantic Standard Time or AST which is used in eastern Canada, the Caribbean and much of South America. The time matches up with what we already use in the Summer and it would mean we don't have to fall back. The idea of ending Daylight Saves might seem weird but it's definitely worth consideration.

Today's Globe article references a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, that found that while heart attacks are reduced for one day in the fall following the clocks’ return to standard time, heart attacks increased for three days in the spring following the start of daylight saving time. There are even many fatal car accidents that have do due with people waking up too late for work and not focused enough from the lack of sleep. Having sunsets come later in the day could potentially save 180 to 366 lives a year. That would be around one person a day.

Changing to Atlantic Time in New England would be a two-step process. First, the interested states would have to decide to abandon Daylight Saves. Second, the states would have to consult the US Department of Transportation, the cabinet agency that regulates time zones. States, municipalities, business interests, and others would have the opportunity to weigh in during both steps. But if they follow both science and the map, they may well decide that New England should join a time zone more suited to us, instead of one that works better with other states like New York.