What did Chris Barnes find about daylight saving time and accidents?

Chris Barnes says the spring switch to daylight saving time, which costs one hour of sleep, is followed by more car crashes and traffic deaths, a pattern first reported in a 1996 study and replicated around 2018. His own study of roughly half a million mining injuries over 25 years found a 5.6% spike on the Monday after the change, plus more severe injuries measured in lost work days. Mining was chosen because it happens underground, which removes daylight as a factor.

• Barnes says the spring change is also tied to more heart attacks, while the fall change is less harmful.
• He favors permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time.
• He cites research finding worse health, including higher cancer rates, on the late-daylight edge of a time zone.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-10-19). Read the whole episode summary →

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