A shocking study shows why summer time is worse than we thought

Two in five Americans experience “Daylight Saving Scaries” as they prepare for the time change in November.

The survey of 2,000 Americans found that 40% feel a sense of dread as they prepare to “relapse,” a feeling that lasts much longer than just the day or two surrounding the time change.

The results showed that this feeling of anxiety began about 11 days before the time change – starting around October 23rd of this year.

And it doesn't end until about 13 days after the change, which is November 16th.

The survey, commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and conducted by Talker Research, looked at the “Daylight Saving Scaries” and how respondents feel about changing their clocks.

Regardless of whether they experience the “daylight saving time horror,” 59% of respondents would permanently stop switching to and from daylight saving time if given the chance.

And older generations were more likely to do so: Half of Millennials would choose to do away with the twice-a-year time change, compared to 69% of Baby Boomers.

Only a third of those surveyed (35%) believe that the fall trade-off – an extra hour of sleep at night instead of less light in the evening – is worth it.

This could be partly because 77% of respondents feel more energetic when the sun is shining. 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 is disrupting our sleep patterns,” said Mark Abrials, CMO at Avocado Green Mattress. “Everyone is a little moody, grumpy, moody and lazy.”

Working respondents in particular (48%) miss daylight – 54% admit that they feel the “sunlight blues” after the time change as they work around the clock.

Of working respondents, 43% also said the week following the end of daylight saving time was the least productive at work – 31% admitted they made more mistakes than usual.

This includes falling asleep at their desk while writing a letter to the company's president, being late because they didn't change the clock the night before, and putting salt in their coffee instead of sugar.

About a fifth of respondents said changing the clock affected their sleep patterns (21%).

So 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.

And these respondents need an extra hour and 24 minutes to feel rested.

“The transition to fall can be a big challenge,” said Amy Sieman, affiliate manager at Avocado Green Mattress. “Early darkness can make us tired earlier and more likely to be sedentary and miss out on fun activities and time outdoors.”

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans who use daylight saving time; The survey was commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and administered and conducted online by Talker Research from October 3-7, 2024.

We rely on a non-probability framework for sourcing and the two main sources we use are:

● Traditional online access panels – where respondents sign up as an incentive to participate in online market research

● Programmatic – when respondents are online and have the opportunity to complete a survey to receive a virtual incentive, usually related to the online activity in which they are participating

Those who did not fit the specified sample were excluded from the survey. The survey uses dynamic online sampling, adjusting targeting to meet the quotas set out in the sampling plan.

Regardless of a respondent's sources, they were directed to an online survey where the survey was administered in English; A link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents received points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash equivalent monetary value.

Cells are reported for analysis only if they have at least 80 respondents and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. The data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are set to achieve the desired sample.

Interviews will be excluded from the final analysis if they do not pass the quality assessment measures. This includes:

● Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time less than one-third of the average interview duration are disqualified as speeders

● Open-ended answers: All verbatim answers (full open-ended questions as well as other options, please specify) will be checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text

● Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, allowing the research team to identify and disqualify bots

● Duplicates: Survey software features “deduplication” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures that no one is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to people with internet access and the results may not be generalizable to people without internet access.