Oklahoma Lawmakers Debating Bill Ending Daylight Saving Time

Some Oklahoma lawmakers say it’s time to put an end to daylight saving time.

The Oklahoma legislature is debating a bill that would end it, meaning there would be no more 'springing forward.'

Many say it’s an outdated practice; and if the bill passes, our clocks would stay the same as they are now, all year-round.

The U.S. first started using daylight saving time during World War I, to save energy; but now, some experts say it serves little purpose.

Assistant general manager of White Hawk Golf Club in Bixby, Chad Hall, said most of his customers like to come later in the day before it gets too dark. But, he said getting rid of daylight saving would barely affect business.

"I think the overall impact would be less than five percent on how much it would affect us," he said.

Experts say observing daylight saving keeps costing us.

Research shows losing that hour of sleep can cause a spike in traffic crashes and health issues the next morning.

A group called Chmura Economics & Analytics found Tulsa pays nearly $2.3 million each year as a result of daylight saving; adding together the costs of heart attacks, other injuries and being unproductive at work as a result of that one less hour of sleep.

Not to mention what springing forward each year does to your sleep schedule, as sleep expert Tara Hess explained.

"It can be hard for our body clocks to adjust, especially - I mean, I'm working with parents, it's much harder on the little ones," she said.

Without daylight saving, dusk would hit around 8 p.m. in the summer instead of 9 p.m.

The bill's opponents point out the sun would also rise as early as 4 a.m., sometimes. That could also throw off your body's natural rhythm.

Hess said, “It's just very hard for your body clock to adjust to go into an earlier bed time and an earlier wake time. I mean, we can reset the circadian rhythm, it is possible, it's just very hard to do. And no one wants to wake up at 4 a.m."

The only states that do not observe daylight saving right now are Arizona, Hawaii and parts of Indiana.

Lawmakers say Oklahoma's bill is expected to pass the House.