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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansans will soon lose an hour of sleep when clocks turn forward on March 10, marking the start of daylight saving time.
Later sunsets come with daylight saving time, but also later sunrises.
Arkansas is among 48 states that spin the clock twice a year with Arizona and Hawaii leaving your watches intact throughout the year.
While Arkansas lawmakers have attempted to add the Natural State to that short list, the attempts have failed.
Here are some of the recent attempts:
State Rep. Sarah Capp (R-Ozark) introduced House Bill 1368 in February 2019, which would adopt year-round standard time and eliminate daylight saving time in Arkansas. However, Capp removed the invoice 23 days after submitting it.
Rep. Johnny Rye (R-Trumann) introduced House Bill 1017 in 2020, the exact opposite of Capp’s bill. Daylight saving time would be adopted year-round and standard time would disappear. The bill passed the House in February 2021 by a vote of 71 to 24, but died in a vote. senate committee meeting in October of that year.
Rye tried again in 2022 with House Bill 1039, which would have also adopted daylight saving time. A month later, Rye withdrew the bill.
A fourth attempt was made in 2023. Rep. Stephen Meeks (R-Greenbrier) introduced House Bill 1568 in an attempt to eliminate daylight saving time and observe standard time year-round. The bill was withdrawn three weeks later.
Another attempt in 2023 was made by Rep. R. Scott Richardson (R-Bentonville) and co-sponsored by Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford) with House Bill 1104. It was also removed about two weeks after its presentation.
Is standard time better than daylight saving time or vice versa?
Well, it depends on who you ask.
“The healthiest option would be to have a permanent standard schedule year-round,” said Dr. Beth Malow, director of the Division of Sleep at Vanderbilt University. Nexstar’s WKRN in 2022. “I say that because we need our light in the morning to be able to function and if we have too much light at night, which is what happens with permanent daylight saving time, it could really interfere with our sleep, and we need to get a good night’s sleep for our health”.
However, a CBS News Poll 2022 showed that more people would prefer daylight saving time to standard time, but the results were not overwhelming. 46% wanted year-round daylight saving time and 33% wanted the opposite. 21% wanted to keep it as is and change the clocks twice a year.
Those who voted for daylight saving time said they were in a better mood, were more productive later in the day and saved energy.
Those who chose the opposite said that it is more in line with the biological rhythm of humans, people would sleep better and be more productive earlier in the day.
Regardless of what Arkansans prefer, the clocks will be turned twice a year to foreseeable future.
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