Page 2 - To Combat Covid, Don’t Turn the Clock Back - WSJ

10/14/2020 To Combat Covid, Don’t Turn the Clock Back - WSJ
2005—the latter change in part because of lobbying from the candy industry, which hoped
that a later sunset on Halloween would improve sales.

It is obvious to me as a psychiatrist that time shifts aren’t benign; negative effects on both

sleep and mood can last for weeks. The twice-a-year clock change has been linked to
increases in heart attacks, car accidents and suicides.

The effect of daylight-saving time over months is harder to study, since seasonal variation
in the total hours of daylight also affects mental health. In winter, many people with
depression struggle, and in the spring, some people with bipolar disorder are prone to

episodes of mania. Winter’s shorter daylight hours and earlier sunset can be demoralizing
even for people who don't suffer from psychiatric conditions.

Covid-19 has already taken a toll. Mental Health America notes that online mental-health
screenings are up this year. In May, the daily number of depression screenings was 384%

higher than in January. Anxiety screenings were 370% higher. The results reveal
staggering increases in rates of loneliness, depression, anxiety, psychosis and suicidal

thoughts.

One important solution to isolation is socializing outdoors. But the earlier sunsets that

herald winter’s approach, exacerbated by returning to standard time, will make that less
viable. This year, we should remain on daylight-saving time through the winter. If we can
do it for candy sales, we certainly can give people time to socialize or exercise outdoors

after work.

Doing all we can to keep social encounters outdoors is likely to mitigate the spread of
Covid-19 and the devastating emotional consequences of this pandemic.

Dr. Miller is a Baltimore psychiatrist and co-author, with Annette Hanson, of “Committed:
The Battle Over Involuntary Psychiatric Care” (Johns Hopkins, 2016).

Appeared in the September 4, 2020, print edition.

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