Main roads
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Summer time does not lead to more active walking
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People have the same number of steps regardless of time changes
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People tend to change their activity based on daylight patterns rather than increasing their steps
TUESDAY, April 28, 2026 (NewsDay News) – Daylight saving time is believed to encourage more outdoor activity, giving people an extra hour of sunlight in the evening before dark.
But a new study says that’s not the case.
According to Fitbit data from 1,157 people in four US states, there was no significant difference in people’s daily steps before and after the time change.
“Overall, changing times is not the public health benefit that some think it is, at least in terms of activity levels,” said the senior researcher. Jessielyn Dunn it is said in the news. He is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
For the study, researchers used data from Our research programa federally funded initiative that annually collects Fitbit data from more than 50,000 people across the country.
The team decided to focus their analysis on the four corner states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, because most of Arizona does not change its clocks along with other states.
The states are large but not very different from each other, which could affect people’s daily steps, the researchers said. The team can compare Arizona to the other three.
“The selection of these states allowed us to collect more natural experimental designs,” said the lead researcher. Hyeon Chonga doctoral student in Dunn’s lab, said in a news release. “Instead of randomly assigning people to the study, we were able to address this question in a more statistically valid way.”
The researchers settled on a week before and a week after the time change, which occurred in the fall of 2021 to the spring of 2023.
As a result, people get about the same number of steps every day, regardless of whether it’s daylight hours or regular time.
The researchers said that the change in time has affected people.
In the spring, people walk more in the evening but less during the day, and vice versa when fall rolls around, the results showed.
For example, morning activity in the fall increased by about 202 points, about one and a half city blocks, but evening activity decreased by 180 points during the same period.
Researchers found that people who were early morning walkers took advantage of the shift to standard time and significantly increased their morning activity.
But the evening walkers were different—the switch from spring to daylight saving time didn’t cause a significant increase in their evening steps, even though the change coincided with their usual active time.
Neutral hikers—those with no preference for morning or evening activities—simply changed their activities based on daylight. They walked more in the morning in the fall and more in the evening in the winter.
The results show that if the US were to stop its regular time changes, the choice of daytime or regular time would not significantly affect people’s activity levels.
The research team noted that some people may not be able to change their walking schedule because they are on a regular work schedule or have safety concerns.
“We have to look carefully at whether this time change will inconvenience some groups but not others,” Dunn said.
The new study was published in the journal April 23 Health of nature.
More information
UT Southwestern Medical Center has more information change of time and health.
Sources: Duke University, news release, April 23, 2026; Health of natureApril 23, 2026
What does this mean for you?
Daylight saving time does not seem to increase people’s physical activity based on daily step counts.
