Time for New Jersey to make daylight savings time permanent

We are less than a month away from turning the clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. It's annoying to "spring forward" and "fall back" every year.

It's an archaic practice that really has no benefit in modern society. One New Jersey legislator has proposed a bill a couple of times to end the practice, but no one seems to be taking it seriously enough to make that bill into law.

State Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, introduced bill S3781 in the 2018-19 session.

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The bill provides for the state of New Jersey to permanently observe daylight saving time by remaining on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) year-round. We would still get to enjoy those long days of summer that provide daylight until nearly 9 o'clock in the early summer.

It would also allow us to get home from work and school with some daylight at a decent time through the long winter months.

According to Turner, “It’s just common sense. People are more apt to be out in grocery stores, in retail stores and restaurants, and participating in a number of economic activities if they had an hour or more of daylight." 

This seasonal shift, lasting until February, often brings fewer hours of daylight, contributing to increased feelings of fatigue and stress. MattressNextDay has revealed that nearly 50% of American workers have admitted to napping during work hours. But where in the U.S. are people taking naps the most during work hours?

They broke it down by state and the New Jersey data found that NJ workers will nap during a scheduled break at work at a rate of 24%.

The survey highlights a growing issue of sleep deprivation and stress among the American workforce, leading to a significant number of employees catching up on sleep during work hours. 

Whether it's for productivity or overall health, it would be great if that bill could become law because in general changing the clocks back and for is pointless and just annoying.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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