Tuesday morning, many Americans woke up still grumpy and tired after losing an hour of sleep in the wee hours of Sunday morning to daylight saving time.
That made the nation peculiarly receptive, later that afternoon, to a surprise from the U.S. Senate. In a vote so sudden that some senators said they didn’t realize it was taking place, the Senate approved Sen. Marco Rubio’s proposal to end the annual spring-forward-fall-back rigamarole most Americans have grown heartily sick of.
Rubio’s plan, dubbed the Sunshine Protection Act, is not perfect. It would set the nation to perpetual daylight saving time — with the sun rising, and setting, later than the times typically associated with dawn and dusk. That creates the perception of more evening hours for activities like shopping and sports, and even if that’s an illusion (no timekeeping change can create more hours in a single day) it’s a powerful one. Spending goes up, and outdoor activities increase, when the sun sets later in the day. Some studies have also linked more light in the evening to a decrease in property-crime rates.
