Proposition 7 conforms daylight saving time to federal law, which means the legislature, with a two-thirds vote, could change daylight saving time if the change is allowed by the federal government.
In even simpler terms, there would be no need to set your clocks forward or back an hour depending on the seasonal time change.
This would mean the body would run on its own clock instead of being forced to adjust to yet another time change, and such adjustments have been proven to have horrible effects on the body.
Researchers have shown heart attacks increase in the days following the March clock adjustment and students are more likely to be depressed and stressed due to the body’s sleep schedule being knocked out of alignment.
Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to constantly adjust our sleep schedules?
Only issue is, there are some drawbacks.
From November to February in places like Twentynine Palms and certain places in Los Angeles, more and more people would be heading to school or work in the dark which could be dangerous for a number of reasons.
For example, children crossing the street may not be seen by drivers, or drivers may not see each other very clearly.
Children would be waiting for the schoolbus in the dark and parents would be driving their children to school in the dark.
The most obvious counter-argument would be there are plenty of sources of light around , and if there aren’t, the city can build them.
Plus, wouldn’t drivers be more alert on a consistent sleeping schedule that won’t change.
A more pragmatic counter argument is that we would be able to enjoy more afternoon daylight between November and March and students wouldn’t be as stressed out and absent-minded during class due to their sleep schedule being toyed with.
All in all, Proposition 7 would allow us to get more rest and as a result increase productivity and the general morale.
Also, there would be less stress and depression when the next time change occurs.
Jeremelle MacLeod is a freshman studying philosophy. You can follow him on Twitter @jeremelle_m.
