Question
S1: Daylight Savings Time (DST), defined as the practice of advancing clocks by one hour in spring, and back one hour in autumn, was introduced in the United States in the spring of 1918 as a perfectly logical wartime measure to save an hour’s worth of fuel each day by reducing the use of artificial light. S2: However, the downsides to this policy currently outweigh the benefits, and therefore DST should be abolished in the United States. S3: Recent research has found that disturbing people’s regular sleep patterns, even by just one hour, can have a negative impact on people’s natural circadian rhythms and health. S4: Notably, one study found that an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by 10 percent during the two days following the spring time change. S5: Furthermore, experts on the body’s relationship with light and dark, such as chronobiologist Till Roenneberg, note that the drawbacks of DST include a substantial decrease in employee productivity. S6: While supporters of DST assume that people can quickly adjust, Roenneberg notes that the body clock does not adjust to DST social clock time even over months. S7: Another often overlooked factor is the opportunity cost of the time spent moving hundreds of millions of clocks forwards and backwards each year; one 2008 economic analysis puts this cost at $1.7 billion annually. S8: Naturally, with the numerous problems caused by DST, there is public support for eliminating the time change; a 2019 AP-NORC poll found that only 28 percent of U.S. S9: adults want to continue changing the clocks twice each year.
According to the passage, the health impact of the practice of Daylight Savings Time
is the main concern of Till Roenneberg
is a larger problem in the United States than it is in other countries
involves an increased risk of heart attacks after the autumn time change
is negative but limited to disturbances to people’s sleep patterns and circadian rhythms
has been shown to include a measurable decrease in the likelihood that the average person will not experience a heart attack
Question
S1: Daylight Savings Time (DST), defined as the practice of advancing clocks by one hour in spring, and back one hour in autumn, was introduced in the United States in the spring of 1918 as a perfectly logical wartime measure to save an hour’s worth of fuel each day by reducing the use of artificial light. S2: However, the downsides to this policy currently outweigh the benefits, and therefore DST should be abolished in the United States. S3: Recent research has found that disturbing people’s regular sleep patterns, even by just one hour, can have a negative impact on people’s natural circadian rhythms and health. S4: Notably, one study found that an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by 10 percent during the two days following the spring time change. S5: Furthermore, experts on the body’s relationship with light and dark, such as chronobiologist Till Roenneberg, note that the drawbacks of DST include a substantial decrease in employee productivity. S6: While supporters of DST assume that people can quickly adjust, Roenneberg notes that the body clock does not adjust to DST social clock time even over months. S7: Another often overlooked factor is the opportunity cost of the time spent moving hundreds of millions of clocks forwards and backwards each year; one 2008 economic analysis puts this cost at $1.7 billion annually. S8: Naturally, with the numerous problems caused by DST, there is public support for eliminating the time change; a 2019 AP-NORC poll found that only 28 percent of U.S. S9: adults want to continue changing the clocks twice each year.
According to the passage, the health impact of the practice of Daylight Savings Time
is the main concern of Till Roenneberg
is a larger problem in the United States than it is in other countries
involves an increased risk of heart attacks after the autumn time change
is negative but limited to disturbances to people’s sleep patterns and circadian rhythms
has been shown to include a measurable decrease in the likelihood that the average person will not experience a heart attack
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and Expert GMAT Focus Instructor
Solution:
The focus of this question is “the health impact of the practice of Daylight Savings Time.” So, the information we need for answering this question will likely be found in S3 and S4, which discuss health impacts of DST.
At the same time, since this passage discusses multiple issues with DST along with research related to the issues, it would be easy to mix up the issues or other details of what the passage says. So, we have to be careful to keep things straight so that we don’t choose a choice that somehow mixes up what the passage says.
(A) is the main concern of Till Roenneberg
Trap: Mix-Up
The passage says that Till Roenneberg notes that “the drawbacks of DST include a substantial decrease in employee productivity” and that “the body clock does not adjust to DST social clock time even over months.”
Thus, while the passage does indicate that Till Roenneberg is concerned with an impact of DST, the concern of Till Roenneberg mentioned by the passage is impact on “productivity.”
So, the passage does not say that the “health impact” of DST “is the main concern of Till Roenneberg.”
To avoid choosing a choice like this one, we have to be careful to keep straight what goes with what in the passage.
(B) is a larger problem in the United States than it is in other countries
Trap: Wrong Comparison
Notice that the passage does not support the comparison expressed by this choice. After all, while the passage does mention that DST was “introduced in the United States,” it provides no information on the use of DST in “other countries.” So, the passage does not provide information that indicates that the health impact is a larger problem in the United States than it is in other countries.
(C) involves an increased risk of heart attacks after the autumn time change
Trap: Mix-Up
Notice that the passage says, “an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by 10 percent during the two days following the spring time change.”
So, this choice is incorrect because it mixes up the autumn time change with the spring time change.
(D) is negative but limited to disturbances to people’s sleep patterns and circadian rhythms
Trap: Half-Right
This choice starts off correctly, because the passage indicates that “disturbing people’s sleep patterns” by advancing clocks for DST “can have a negative impact on people’s … health.”
However, this choice goes wrong partway through, because the passage does not say that the health impact of DST is “limited to” disturbances to people’s sleep patterns and circadian rhythms. On the contrary, the passage mentions another health impact: “an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by 10 percent during the two days following the spring time change.”
CORRECT ANSWER(E) has been shown to include a measurable decrease in the likelihood that the average person will not experience a heart attack
This choice is another way of saying what the passage says.
The passage says, “one study found that an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases by 10 percent during the two days following the spring time change.”
Of course, the fact that a study found that an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases when time is changed for DST means what this choice says, that the health impact of DST “has been shown to include a measurable decrease in the likelihood that the average person will not experience a heart attack.” After all, if an individual’s risk of experiencing a heart attack increases, then the likelihood that the average person will not experience a heart attack decreases.
