Reintroduction of Sunshine Protection Act continues push to end daylight saving time

NEW YORK — If you’re feeling extra tired, you’re not alone. We’re entering the first workweek under daylight saving time, which still exists.

CBS2 has more on how it may end soon and its potential harm on your health.

In the city that never sleeps, it’s impossible to find anyone who actually likes switching their clocks twice a year.

READ MORE: Not-so-fun facts about daylight saving time

“Look at the city. It stays on all day, every day, so what’s the point?” said Luis Matos of Tampa, Florida.

“Please change it,” added a woman named Marian from Manhattan.

There is an effort to. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio sponsors the Sunshine Protection Act that was reintroduced this month after it passed in the Senate last March but failed to get a House vote.

“I think we should pick one and stick with it. I think daylight savings is the one,” Rubio said.

READ MORE: Daylight saving time: Could setting our clocks ahead and back soon be a thing of the past?

When we spring forward at this time of year, we’re in daylight saving time. It ends when we “fall” back into standard time. Dr. Luis Quintero, a pulmonary and sleep medicine specialist at Northwell Health, says the time changes affect our sleep, which could lead to more serious health implications.

“You really do need to ensure that the quality of sleep is appropriate. Whenever it’s disrupted, you have increased chance for these heart attacks, strokes, depression, anxiety and irritability,” Quintero said.

The most common mistake he sees is patients not preparing ahead for daylight saving time, and recommends:

• Preparing the week before
• Progressively sleep and wake up 15 minutes earlier each day in the week leading up to daylight saving time
• Making sure you have three meals per day to improve the body’s clock, or circadian rhythm

The doctor believes standard time in the fall should stay permanent.

“Everybody would sort of be on the same time schedule, and, yes, you would have periods of darkness, but at the same time that is the winter time and during the summertime you have periods of light as well,” Quintero said.

People tend to blame farmers for the taxing clock change, but it actually originated during World War I to conserve energy resources. The U.S. joined other countries in South America and Europe in the practice, like Slovakia, where Matus Hunor is from.

“I’m tired always, so it doesn’t make a difference,” Hunor said.

Also, in case you were wondering, it’s daylight saving time, not daylight savings time.