Coogan, Andrew and Richardson, Shannon and Raman, Sudha (2022) A Data-Informed Perspective on Public Preferences for Retaining or Abolishing Biannual Clock Changes. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 37 (4). pp. 351-357. ISSN 0748-7304

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Abstract

Scientific, public, and political discourse around the perennial changing of the clocks during the transitions into and out of daylight saving time (DST) is a touchstone issue for the translation of fundamental chronobiology into societal impacts. The Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, along with other sleep science bodies, has issued a position statement that advocates for the abolition of the biannual clock changes and the adoption of permanent standard time for the optimization of population circadian health. However, there is a paucity of data on preexisting public perceptions and preferences with regard to these issues. In this perspective, we examine 5 issues that we believe are pertinent for chronobiologists to consider to enable effective advocacy on these policies; in particular, we discuss public preference for permanent DST and steps that may need to be taken to understand this preference. We inform our discussion with reference to cross-sectional studies we undertook in Spring 2020 and Fall 2019, around the transition out of and into DST Ireland. We conclude that there appears to be a gap between existing public perceptions and preferences around the clock changes and chronobiological and sleep science-informed positions, and that the chronobiology community may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues with specific social sciences expertise to most effectively advocate for these research-informed positions.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	daylight saving time; standard time; chronotype; social jetlag;
Academic Unit:	Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Human Health Institute
Item ID:	17875
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304221096390
Depositing User:	Dr. Andrew Coogan
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2023 13:07
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Biological Rhythms
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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