How permanent daylight saving time could impact your mental health

Why do we change our clocks twice a year?

The United States adopted its first version of daylight saving time in 1918, primarily to conserve energy during World War I. The practice became a fixed, nationwide practice with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which set the rules for when clocks spring forward and fall back. (Today, every state except for Hawaii and Arizona practices DST.)

The logic behind DST is simple: It’s intended to maximize the amount of sunlight we can use. During the part of the year when the days are longer, moving the clocks forward one hour shifts that hour of daylight from the early morning into the evening hours. The idea is that people can take more advantage of that sunlight after work and school. Then in the winter, when the days are shorter, we return to standard time again, and we shift back to having more daylight in the morning, less in the evening.

In the U.S., we spend roughly eight months of the year in daylight saving time and roughly four months in standard time.

Making daylight saving time (DST) permanent would essentially lock the clocks to the schedule most of the country already follows from March to November. That means that spring, summer, and most of fall would stay the same, but the period from early November to mid March would see sunrises and sunsets one hour later than they do now. This generally means more light in the evening and less in the morning, year-round.

Permanent DST wouldn’t actually create more daylight—that’s pretty fixed by the sun and the Earth. It would just shift when we experience that light. (It’s worth noting that Hawaii and Arizona would still be exempt as they observe year-round standard time.)

How the current twice-yearly switch affects your mental health

“The current system isn’t working super great,” says Andrew McHill, Ph.D., director of the Sleep, Chronobiology, and Health Laboratory at Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Nursing.

The main problem is that lost hour of sleep in the spring. “The spring forward shift is a little bit taxing to some people because it forces you to lose an hour of sleep,” says Monica R. Cwynar, a licensed clinical social worker at Thriveworks. Sleep is essential to our mental health. “So this acute disruption can exacerbate existing symptoms,” Cwynar says—like irritability, fatigue, and anxiety. That’s especially a concern in people with pre-existing mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, she adds.

Not only do you lose sleep, but the time change also messes with your body’s internal clock (your circadian rhythm), which helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. “It is creating this mismatch, an artificial misalignment between our internal biological clocks and our social structures,” Dr. McHill says. The clock says it’s time to wake up—but your body still thinks it’s nighttime.

A regulated circadian rhythm is pretty essential to your physical and mental wellbeing, Dr. McHill says, which is why that disruption can feel pretty rough for all of us. For example, your mood tends to decrease if you’re awake when your body clock says it’s time to be sleeping.

One recently published review of 66 studies found that DST (particularly the “spring forward” transition) is linked to an increase in sleep issues; problems with executive functioning, attention, and working memory; emotional reactivity; depressive symptoms; risk of manic episodes; and short-term risk of suicidality.

These disruptions to our sleep schedules and body rhythms are especially concerning for people who experience certain mental health conditions heavily affected by sleep-wake cycles, like bipolar disorder. Any type of sleep disruption can increase the risk of a bipolar disorder event like a manic episode, note the experts.

How permanent daylight saving time could affect your mental health

Not having to adjust twice a year has some upsides, especially for certain individuals, but permanent DST in particular can also have consequences on our mental health, experts say. “We’re moving in the right direction by eliminating these transitions,” Dr. McHill says. “However, we’re [going about it] the wrong way.”

Let’s start with the potential benefits of year-round DST: Not changing the clocks eliminates the adjustment period and sleep loss that can be hard for many. “Not switching is good,” Dr. McHill says. Those who stand to benefit the most are people whose mental health symptoms and conditions are triggered by disrupted sleep, like bipolar disorder. “Consistency is often the cornerstone of treatment for bipolar disorder,” Cwynar explains. So for these individuals, keeping the same clock time all year could support the stabilization of their sleep schedule, biological rhythm, and mood.

Another benefit of permanent DST would be an extra hour of evening light, which could translate into more time to be outside, exercise, or socialize after work or school—all meaningful mood-boosters. “Some people might enjoy the extra hour of evening light,” Cwynar says.

That said, experts have some major issues with permanent daylight saving time. The first problem? “It means darker mornings year-round,” Cwynar says. As researchers explain in the JJournal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, DST in the winter would mean sunrises after 8 a.m. for two to four months (depending on where you live in the U.S.), with the sun rising as late as 9:30 a.m. in some places. That means many more people will be commuting to school or work in the dark.

Light is the single most powerful cue for your body to set and regulate your circadian rhythm, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Specifically, bright light in the morning and darkness at night. “Artificially shifting the clock permanently so we’re not getting as much light early in the day could really hurt that internal alignment, and then subsequently hurt our mood,” Dr. McHill explains. That’s because that alignment is responsible for our sleep, hormones, and mental health.

“The lack of morning light can make it harder for the body to wake up and regulate [certain] hormones properly,” Cwynar says. Morning light tells your body to stop making melatonin (a hormone linked to sleep) and produce a healthy, temporary boost of cortisol (which helps rev your system up to start the day). Getting up in the dark can also lead to sleep inertia, Cwynar explains—that feeling where you wake up super groggy—which can negatively affect both mood and cognitive function throughout the day.

Extended daylight exacerbates the problem. While it can be fun when it’s sunny later in the day, getting more sunlight in the evening “makes it more difficult for the body to actually synchronize with a 24-hour day,” Dr. McHill adds.

Both experts agree that people with depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD, i.e. seasonal depression) are likely to feel the impact of reduced morning light more. “It makes you more prone to get more depressed when there’s less sunlight,” Cwynar says. Of course, winter comes with fewer daylight hours no matter what, but reducing morning sunlight and waking up in the dark tend to be more detrimental, Cwynar says. (That’s why morning use of lamps that mimic natural sunlight can help treat SAD, she notes.)

But neither expert sees this as a settled question for everyone. “There are probably some people it’s going to benefit, and some people it’s not,” Cwynar says, adding that the effects will really depend on someone’s location, schedule, lifestyle, mental health, and their individual sensitivity to circadian disruption.

Would permanent standard time actually be better for your mental health?

Mental health and sleep experts are in favor of getting rid of the time changes. But most of them actually advocate for the exact opposite of the Sunshine Protection Act: Making standard time permanent.

“Permanent standard time is widely considered by sleep experts to be more aligned with our internal bodily clocks,” Cwynar says. Multiple major medical and sleep organizations, including the AASM, the Sleep Research Society, and the American Medical Association, have issued position statements favoring permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time.

As the AASM explains in their statement, the call for standard time is based on the research showing the negative effects of the time changes and the ongoing impact of DST.

Permanent standard time, on the other hand, “aligns best with human circadian biology,” according to the AASM. Your body’s circadian rhythm tracks with the sun. “Our bodies are naturally synced to solar time,” Cwynar explains. So when we keep standard time—meaning noon on the clock is pretty close to the sun being directly overhead (depending on where you live)—we’re lining up the sun’s movement, our time-telling clocks, and our internal clocks.

What would keeping standard time look like, exactly? The late fall and winter months (between early November and mid-March) would stay the same in terms of sunrises and sunsets, since we already use standard time in these months. But from mid-March through early November—spring, summer, and much of fall—the sunrises and sunsets would all take place one hour earlier than they currently do.

Experts are open to a change in how we keep time. But “if we’re going to do it, we need to move it in the direction that’s backed by the science and backed by the health experts,” McHill says.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is daylight saving time going to be permanent?

Possibly, but it isn’t decided yet. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July 2026, but it still needs to pass the Senate and be signed into law before it takes effect.

What’s the difference between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time?

Permanent daylight saving time keeps the country on the same clock schedule used from March to November year-round—shifting more daylight into the evening. Permanent standard time keeps the schedule used from November to March all year—which generally means brighter mornings and earlier sunsets.

Is permanent daylight saving time better or worse for your sleep?

It depends. Not losing an hour of sleep in the spring is a plus, along with not having to adjust your body’s inner clock twice a year. That’s especially true for people with conditions sensitive to sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions, like bipolar disorder. But losing consistent morning light, a key cue for the body’s internal clock, is a genuine concern that most sleep researchers say makes permanent standard time the better choice overall.

Can daylight saving time trigger bipolar episodes?

Sleep disruption, including the hour of lost sleep from the spring clock change, can increase the risk of a manic episode in people with bipolar disorder. Consistency in sleep schedule is one of the most important factors in managing the condition.