Missing Hour of Daylight Saving Time Costs Us More Than Lost Sleep: Try Close to a Half-Billion Dollars in Economic Loss, New Index Shows

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Springing forward into daylight saving time also means falling backwards – almost half a billion dollars backwards – in yawn-induced economic costs. According to the SleepBetter.org Lost-Hour Economic Index, moving the clock ahead one hour each spring inflicts at least $434 million in total losses on the U.S. economy each year.

“The markets that see the largest per capita economic loss in this index are heavily concentrated in West Virginia and Florida where it appears higher heart attack rates and the impacts of workplace injury due to mining and construction are most acute.”

The sleepy (literally) market of Morgantown, West Virginia has it the worst losing a total of $445,685. That translates to each of its 129,709 residents losing $3.40, more than double the national average and more than enough for a large coffee to keep them going.

[A complete per capita ranking of the more than 360 metropolitan areas included in the study can be found here www.sleepbetter.org/Lost-Hour-Economic-Index and the top 25 markets by per-capita costs are listed below]

“The hour of sleep we lose each spring as part of daylight saving time has a broader collateral impact that this study has quantified in dollars and cents,” said Dan Schecter, senior vice president of consumer products at Carpenter Co. and creator of SleepBetter.org. “As various academic studies have shown, that missing hour of sleep has both physiological and psychological effects – effects that can lead to an increase in workplace injury, cyberloafing and even heart attacks. While we may appreciate the extra hour of daylight that comes with moving our clocks ahead, this study provides a prudent reminder that it’s a good idea to try to make up for that missing hour of sleep elsewhere.”

The metrics behind the index were developed by Chmura Economics & Analytics, a Richmond, Va.-based firm that provides economic consulting, quantitative research and software solutions to a range of private and public entities. Chmura drew data from three previously published academic studies: (1) a 2008 study from The New England Journal of Medicine that examined the effects of daylight saving time on incidence of heart attacks; (2) a 2009 study from The Journal of Applied Psychology, which measured the incidence of workplace injury in the mining and construction industries in the days following the change to daylight saving time; and (3) a 2012 study also published in The Journal of Applied Psychology that examined the increases in cyberloafing on the Monday after the switch to daylight saving time.

“We developed this index exclusively with research that found costs related to daylight saving time and that were published in peer-reviewed journals, so the total economic cost we found is likely only a small portion of the true costs of the lost hour of sleep,” said Chris Chmura, President and Chief Economist for Chmura Economics & Analytics. “The markets that see the largest per capita economic loss in this index are heavily concentrated in West Virginia and Florida where it appears higher heart attack rates and the impacts of workplace injury due to mining and construction are most acute.”

On average, the study found that the per capita loss due to the change to daylight saving time is at least $1.70. The actual loss is likely much higher as the study does not include the impact of daylight saving time on possible increases in automobile accidents or on other manufacturing, transportation or utility sectors. The markets that comprise most of Arizona and Hawaii are not included because they do not observe daylight saving time.

Index Methodology

These are the findings of Chmura Economics & Analytics in a study entitled “Estimating the Economic Loss of Daylight Saving Time for U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas” commissioned by the Carpenter Co. The study focused on only the aspects of economic losses where solid evidence from peer-reviewed academic journals could be obtained, showing how the DST change can lead to an increase in heart attacks, workplace injuries in the mining and construction sectors, and increased cyberloafing that reduces productivity for people who typically work in offices. A reasonable economic cost was then developed from the economic costs of heart attacks, workplace accidents and cyberloafing and applied to the more than 300 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the U.S.

About SleepBetter.org

Created by Carpenter Co., SleepBetter.org is dedicated to helping people sleep better. Designed as an online resource, the website creates a forum for visitors to define, discuss and discover solutions to fit their particular sleep needs. SleepBetter.org’s quest is to continually gather pertinent sleep information, then share this knowledge with the general public. The site also shares tips on the best sleep-related products, both in stores and online. SleepBetter.org has created the SleepBetter seal as a way to easily identify products recommended for their superior quality or scientifically based design. For more information, please visit www.SleepBetter.org.

About Carpenter Co.

Carpenter Co. is the largest manufacturer of comfort cushioning products in the world. The Richmond, Va.-based company manufactures a wide variety of polyurethane foam and polyester fiber products, all designed to make the world more comfortable. Born and built in the United States, Carpenter Co. has a 64-year history of designing the world’s most comfortable products and remains on the cutting edge of product development, creating innovative products that improve sleep and enhance active life styles. The Carpenter Co. Consumer Products Division offers a dynamic line of trusted products, including Isotonic®, ErgoFresh™, Ambient™ and IsoCool™ by Isotonic® pillows, mattress pads and neck pillows as well as comfort technologies like Avena™ and Avela™ and new technologies like IsoFresh™. For more information, visit www.carpenter.com.

The SleepBetter.org Lost Hour Economic Index – Top 25

(A sortable and searchable database of all the more than 350 markets a is available at www.sleepbetter.org/Lost-Hour-Economic-Index)

MSA	Total Lost Hour Cost	Population 2010	Index Rank	Per Capita Cost	MSA Rank
National	$433,982,548	260,392,304	-	$1.65449	-
Morgantown, WV	$445,685	129,709	1	$3.37947	293
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH	$930,759	287,702	2	$3.18188	162
Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH	$519,472	162,056	3	$3.15273	245
Charleston, WV	$973,594	304,284	4	$3.14694	156
Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA	$925,487	309,544	5	$2.94061	151
Lakeland, FL	$1,582,213	602,095	6	$2.58458	87
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$7,283,123	2,783,243	7	$2.57369	18
Ocala, FL	$863,182	331,298	8	$2.56256	147
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL	$1,822,027	702,281	9	$2.55172	73
Punta Gorda, FL	$404,984	159,978	10	$2.48982	247
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	$1,412,054	563,631	11	$2.46403	90
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC	$662,576	269,291	12	$2.41994	168
Pittsburgh, PA	$5,794,723	2,356,285	13	$2.41877	22
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	$1,336,302	543,376	14	$2.41877	96
Evansville, IN-KY	$873,111	358,676	15	$2.39418	142
Tulsa, OK	$2,277,053	937,478	16	$2.38892	54
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL	$334,825	138,028	17	$2.38584	283
Bloomington, IN	$464,931	192,714	18	$2.37282	218
Chattanooga, TN-GA	$1,268,241	528,143	19	$2.36178	98
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	$1,187,424	494,593	20	$2.36128	103
Bangor, ME	$368,824	153,923	21	$2.35671	259
Alexandria, LA	$367,169	153,922	22	$2.34615	257
Palm Coast, FL	$227,338	95,696	23	$2.33651	347
Muncie, IN	$279,430	117,671	24	$2.33557	317
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	$428,270	180,822	25	$2.32946	224