According to NPR, there have been a number of bills at the federal and state levels over the years to abolish the practice of moving clocks forward and back each year.

One such bill, introduced in Pennsylvania in 2023 by state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, states that experts believe eliminating daylight saving time could “improve public safety, increase social and commercial activity, and reduce electricity consumption,” and could also have health benefits.

“There is clear evidence that tossing and turning causes (more) heart attacks and strokes not only in adults, but also in children, particularly adolescents, who are sleep-deprived,” said Beth Ann Malow, a neurologist and director of the sleep division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according to the Washington Post.

As for the alternative to daylight saving time, according to the Washington Post, there are two options: either making daylight saving time permanent, which means we don’t just change the clocks in November but instead benefit from more sunshine at the start of spring. Or making standard time permanent, which means not changing the clocks at all.

The same NPR article states that many doctors and scientists tend to advocate the latter, as standard time is said to be more in line with our body’s natural internal clock, contributing to better sleep and therefore better overall health.

No matter what daylight saving time does, the clocks will change this year on Sunday, November 3rd.