Daylight Saving Time Is Making Workers Less Productive

Two in five Americans will experience “daylight saving scaries” when preparing to change the clocks in November.

The survey of 2,000 Americans revealed that 40% feel a sense of dread when preparing to “fall back,” a feeling that lasts much longer than just the day or two surrounding the time change.

Results revealed this sense of dread sets in about 11 days prior to the changing of clocks — starting around October 23 this year.

And it doesn’t end until about 13 days after the change, which will be November 16.

Related: Daylight Saving Time Annoys a Lot of People — But Not If They Work in These 3 Industries That Benefit Most From the Change

Commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and conducted by Talker Research, the survey dug into the daylight saving scaries and how respondents feel about changing their clocks.

Regardless of whether they experience the phenomenon, 59% of respondents would permanently stop the switch to and from daylight saving time if given the chance.

Older generations were more eager to do so: Half of millennials would choose to end the twice-a-year time change, compared to 69% of baby boomers.

Only a third of respondents (35%) believe the trade-off in the fall — an extra hour of sleep for the night versus less light in the evenings — is worth it.

That might be due in part to the 77% of respondents who feel more energized when the sun is out. But after daylight saving time ends, 70% feel like they start and end their day when it’s dark.

“The sudden shift to shorter days and darker nights throws off our sleep schedules,” says Mark Abrials, CMO at Avocado Green Mattress. “Everyone is a bit cranky, grumpy, moody and lazy.”

Related: Want to Be More Productive? Stop Trying to Finish Every Task, and Do This Instead

Employed respondents (48%) especially miss the daylight — 54% admit experiencing the “sunlight blues” after the time change, as they’re at work during all the hours of daylight.

For employed respondents, 43% also said that the week after daylight saving time ends is their most unproductive at work — with 31% admitting they make more mistakes than is typical.

This includes falling asleep at their desk while typing a letter to the company’s president, showing up late after not changing their clocks the night before and putting salt into their coffee instead of sugar.

About a fifth of respondents said changing the clocks harms their sleep schedule (21%).

Therefore, perhaps it’s no surprise that 37% of respondents need more sleep in the days or weeks after daylight saving time ends, regardless of their employment status.

Those respondents need an extra hour and 24 minutes in order to feel well-rested.

“The fall time change can be such a struggle,” says Amy Sieman, affiliate manager at Avocado Green Mattress. “The early darkness can make us tired early and more prone to be sedentary, skipping out on fun activities and time outdoors.”

Related: How to Maximize Every Hour of Your Day for Unstoppable Productivity