Case Outline

Your name: Kelsey O’Leary

Proposition/Thesis: Utah should “Fall Back” once without “Springing Forward” and remain on the Mountain
Standard Time schedule year-round.

Type of Organization: I’m going to use the Stock Issues method of Organization for my Outline.

I. When you “Spring Forward”, you lose an hour of sleep, which really throws off your body’s regular
routine. Not only does suffering from sleep deprivation suck on a mental level, but it also causes
physical, dire consequences on the road.
A. Both Fatal and non-fatal traffic accidents are increased hours after the shift to daylight saving

time. People are tired, groggy, and this drastically affects their ability to drive, just losing one

hour of sleep can cause so much turmoil to your awareness.

i. After analyzing 21 years of fatal car crash data following “Spring Forward”, the average

had jumped from 78.2 on a regular Monday, to 83.5. (Resnick, 2017) In smaller findings

of non-fatal traffic accidents, researchers in Canada discovered the average increase was

found to be approximately 8 percent.

B. If we didn’t change our clocks, and stayed one schedule year-round, we could make a significant

impact to reducing fatalities every year. If there was no bi-annual shift, there would be no spike

in accidents, rates would stay steady year-round because people would be adjusted to a

consistent sleep schedule. It’s also interesting to note that after “falling back”, and regaining that
 our sleep, no data was found about increased traffic accidents, only “Springing forward” to DST

had an effect.

i. It is estimated that pedestrian fatalities would be reduced by 13 percent (171 people)

from 5-10 am, and 4-9 pm. Motor vehicle occupant fatalities, have an estimated

reduction of 3 percent (195 people) per year. (Gorski, 2018)

II. Losing sleep doesn’t only affect a person’s ability to drive, but can cause an increased risk of heart
attacks, strokes, and seriously affect diet and eating habits.
A. The heart is a fragile thing, especially for someone who is sleep deprived, it takes a serious toll

over the years. Transitioning to DST may also be linked to an increase in a very common type of

stroke.

i. A study noticed an association between the shift to DST in the Spring, they found that

short term risk of a heart attack was higher than average. (Welch, 2018) In other studies,

researchers in Finland analyzed a decade’s worth of stroke data and found that the overall

rate of patients affected by ischemic stroke, one of the majority of stroke cases found,

caused by a blood clot blocking the blood flow to the brain, was increased by 8 percent

after the first two days following the transition to DST. Cancer patients and people over

the age of 65 appear to have their risk of stroke raised at a significantly higher rate
 immediately after the shift of the clocks. This risk is increased by 25 percent, and 20

percent, respectively.

B. An hour shift may not seem like a big deal when you think about eating. But an hour difference

every day confuses your body in an alarming rate, it affects hormone levels that causes bad

eating habits, such as a craving for junk food. Not only does it ruin diets, but it has an awful

effect on your weight as well.

i. In 2012, a study was done on the eating habits of adult men and women over the course

of a week. Losing just an hour and 20 minutes of sleep, researched examined that the

adults consumed an average of 549 extra calories per day than usual. It’s also true that

when your sleep deprived, you’re also more drawn to junk food, both these factors help

put an extra pound or two on you over time. (Tarantino, 2019)

III. Mood, Stress, and how it affects the workplace.

C. The shift to DST not only influences our physical health, it also affects our mood and our stress

levels. For those prone to and living with depression, it can only get worse.

i. People who live with depression have a seriously hard time keeping healthy and putting

depressive tendencies at bay during the bi-annual DST. It’s not uncommon for these

people to develop Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is categorized as a type of Major

 Depressive Disorder, a very real, clinical disorder that occurs with the beginning and end

of DST. (Serani, 2018). People who are already depressed should be especially careful, as

it is entirely possible to develop and fall into a double depression. It’s true that seasonal

depression occurs during the end of the DST shift, but if we removed it, and remained on

Standard Time year-round, there is a very real possibility that a steadily maintained

adjustment to our circadian rhythms will also benefit individuals and their mental states

in general. The seasons can change as they naturally do, we just wouldn’t have to change

our clocks as well; Body clock, and literal clock.

D. Our changes in mood and stress levels also affect how we operate at work following the shift.

i. Reduced sleep habituates us to a lower level of alertness, slowed reaction times, and

decreased motor skills. This can cause a lack of very important skills in the workplace

culture and how we fit into it. When we put sleep aside and treat it as a second-class

luxury, we are losing the ability to process information, concentrate, recall things, use our

critical thinking, and multitask. (Colosi, 2019)

IV. Opposing Views, and Border States.

A. There are those that prefer DST to be permanent over Standard Time.
 i. One reason is because of crime, people believe that crime rates would go down

with the extended amount of daylight would help this, due to a couple statistics.

Crime rates were 3% higher after people set their clocks to “Fall Back” compared

to “Springing Forward.” (Mathewson, 2017)

B. A lot of people want the DST shift to end because of how many health problems it stirs up,

Arizona, Utah’s neighboring state in the South does not observe DST and remains on Mountain

Standard Time. Utah should be following in their stead.

i. Arizona doesn’t observe DST because it would be both financially and

economically inefficient to be constantly running air conditioning units to keep

schools, personal homes, and community buildings cool throughout the summer

months. (Terrill, 2018) Utah is a desert too, and are Summers are excruciatingly

hot. Without our air conditioning, and the money used to run it, the people of Utah

would suffer from heat exhaustion and strokes alike.