Should Oklahoma put an end to yearly time changes? Here's what our readers think
Sen. Blake Stephens, R-Tahlequah, authored Senate Bill 1200 requiring Oklahoma to adopt daylight saving time as the year-round standard time if a federal law is passed that authorizes states to do so.
We asked readers to share their thoughts on staying in daylight saving time instead of changing the clocks twice a year. Here's what they had to say:
From our inbox 📧
'We need all the sunlight we can get'
I vote in favor of retaining Daylight Saving Time year-round in Oklahoma. Currently, we have six time zones in the US: Eastern, Indiana, Central, Mountain, Arizona, and Pacific. We could reduce those by two if all states would adopt DST permanently.
Kids might play outdoors more if they had the additional sunlight after school. Even adults would benefit by perhaps having more outdoor time to spend with their kids.
Besides, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as do many Americans, and we need all the sunlight we can get during normal business hours.
―Derel Schrock, Edmond
Standard time is God's time
Current Time Zones are established so solar noon is approximately on the East side of the zone and the West side is about an hour later. On DST, solar noon will be almost 2 hrs off on the western part of the state, such as Guymon, Elk City.
Standard Time is ideal as it fits closest to natural time. It best aligns solar noon with our clocks ― the point at which the sun has reached the highest point of the sky and transitions from east to west. The medical community, specifically sleep experts, have demonstrated that our bodies follow the sun, our circadian rhythm. Forcing us off that for many months of the year increases stress on our body and makes us more depressed. People tend to ignore that for their desire to have more light in the evening. But we are less productive, quantifiably, on DST. Industry productivity goes down on DST just as it does for night shift workers. The late sun makes our bodies strive to stay up later in the evening despite the fact we still have to get up early the next morning.
DST in the summer means waiting later into the afternoon for the hottest part of the day to get out and mow, go fishing, or any outdoor activity. For me I am a fisherman. Waiting until 4 p.m. to get out on the water and staying out until dark means getting in after 9 p.m. By the time you clean your fish and cram your dinner down (you're) going to bed at 10:30 or 11 p.m. However, those heading to work the next day still have to be up by around 6 a.m. DST also impacts farmers during the summer as you have to wait for the dew to burn off your forage. Forage is cured by the sun. Instead of baling hay at 10-11 a.m, we are waiting until 11 a.m. to noon to start baling. This keeps us out later in the evening.
The problems with DST are not particularly obvious during the summer as there is 14.5 hrs of daylight. However in the winter months when there is only 9.75 hrs of daylight, a one-hour shift is a sizable portion of our day. The affects on winter-month activities and schooling will be more apparent. Children waiting in the dark for the school bus and weekend sports practices will be delayed. Yet our schedules will remain the same.
An hour might seem trivial but once you look at all the facts it is actually a huge impact on our lives, health and economy.
― Robert Scott, Beggs
Permanent Standard Time balances morning, evening light for fairness and prosperity
Thank you for requesting public input on Oklahoma SB 1200 (Stephens), a bill that seeks to retry the failed experiment of permanent Daylight Saving Time (fast time). Please help stop this bill from advancing with its current language, and encourage amendment to permanent Standard Time (natural time), the clock aligned to human circadian rhythms.
Permanent DST would push Oklahoma City sunrise past 8 a.m for. 110 days (3.6 months), from Nov. 10 to Feb. 28. It would delay OKC’s latest winter sunrise from 7:39 a.m. to 8:39 a.m. It would darken mornings even longer (up to 5 months) and later (past 9 a.m.) in places further west. When Congress mandated permanent DST nationwide in 1974, Oklahoma was among several states to fight for its immediate repeal, due to its threat to safety and business. Everyone needs morning sunlight to feel awake, alert, and happy. Morning sunlight is especially needed by children, adolescents, neurodivergent individuals, people who work outdoors in mornings (e.g. construction workers), and people with early work start times (eg bus drivers).
Permanent Standard Time balances morning and evening light for fairness and prosperity. Scores of organizations and hundreds of researchers, physicians, teachers, parents, religious leaders, and journalists on the right and left oppose permanent DST and endorse permanent Standard Time.
―Jay Pea, president Save Standard Time
From our survey form 📋
● Two words: Vitamin D. We all need it, and one of the best sources of it is the sun. Too little sun or vitamin D in the morning can translate into a sluggish day for many. Locking in Daylight Savings Time is an easy and drug-free way to provide that energizing vitamin D early in the morning.
— Charles De Coune, Oklahoma City
● I'd prefer a single time be calculated so that the twice annual time change would be put to rest. Without doing much research, could a time be set during the shortest day of the year to maximize daylight, then as the days became longer, the amount of sunlight would gradually increase?
— Jeff Spencer, Edmond
● It is a very bad idea! Just look back to the mess created by the Nixon era in the early 1970s. The sun didn't come up until after 08:30 in the dead of winter. School kids were in total darkness at the height of rush hour. There was an outcry, and the decision was reversed, as it should have been. It was a safety concern for all. A better idea is permanent Standard Time like Arizona, Hawaii, and some other territories have.
— Terry Brennan, Piedmont
● Pick one or the other. Just stop changing.
— Fred Stuart, Norman
● It's been my wish since realizing I had extreme seasonal affective disorder and I feel depressed ALL WINTER!
— Cristi Richardville, Tulsa
● Bad idea. It's better to have Standard Time locked in.
— John Aldher, Oklahoma City
● I am opposed to locking in Daylight Saving Time. The organization Save Standard Time has made several convincing arguments for locking in Standard Time instead of Daylight Saving Time. The primary benefit is to human health. Studies have shown and many medical experts agree that the earlier sunrises on Standard Time are better for our bodies. From a practical standpoint, youth sports teams in Oklahoma will now have more morning daylight hours (which tend to be cooler) to practice outdoors.
Another practical reason for locking in Standard Time is that we will end by "falling back" one hour instead of "springing forward" one hour. Most people agree that gaining an hour is easier than losing an hour. Finally, any state (including Oklahoma) can decide to go on Standard Time permanently without the permission of Congress, while locking in Daylight Saving Time requires Congress to act. With the gridlock we currently see in Congress, that is unlikely to happen soon. I encourage all Oklahomans to contact their state senators and representatives to urge them to build on the work of State Representative Kevin West and choose permanent Standard Time.
— Nicholas Zoller, Oklahoma City
● We should stay on standard day time and not switch back and forth.
— Yves Badaroux, Norman
● No. Science says we need more morning light. As the climate heats, the last thing we want or need or can afford is more sunlight.
— Dana Morrow, Oklahoma City
● I personally do not like daylight savings time. I know I am in the minority but I prefer standard time. Winter sun rise would be after 8:30 on many days.
— Steve Cordell, Edmond
● It needs to be done. No more spring forward or fall back.
— Ronald Green, Edmond
● Yes. Either Standard or Daylight, just stick with one and the people with adjust.
— Bret Rider, Alva
● Yes. At least, choose one or the other. Stop the switching up.
— Marcy Roll, Moore
● Do it this year. I’m tired of have to change clocks
— Bill Gary, Oklahoma City
● Please lock it in permanently, I have wanted this for several years.
— Tom Willis, Weatherford
● I 100% support locking in daylight savings time. Period
— Gail Fites, Oklahoma City
● I fully support Oklahoma staying on DST. I experience adults and children enjoying life when they have sunshine in the evening for play, hobbies, and yes, even chores. I raise the question of does Oklahoma need to have the same clock as other far flung parts of this country. Should we not do what is best for us, with our culture and climate? Does anything really change if it is 6pm here but 5pm in Wisconsin?
— Austin Brewer, Oklahoma City
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma readers weigh in on bill to change daylight saving time rules
