The days of mid-afternoon sunsets are almost upon us as winter draws nearer. A few days after Halloween, most of the US will be moving the clocks backward one hour. Daylight saving time ends on Nov. 2, with the time officially changing at 2 a.m.
The time shift is notorious for disrupting sleep patterns and schedules. Some politicians are pushing to abolish time changes and remain in daylight saving time, or DST, forever. If you, too, dislike how early it's about to get dark each day, just remember that brighter evenings will be back after four months.
When does daylight saving time end?
Daylight saving time in the US ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, Nov. 2, and runs until 2 a.m. local time Sunday, March 8.
The end of DST has the motto "fall back," whereas in March, we'll "spring forward."
The US isn't alone in observing daylight saving time. Check out this list of other countries that use DST, along with their start and end dates.
Daylight saving time vs. standard time
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The official US time website shows where time zone boundaries are located.
National Institute of Standards and TechnologyThe exact start dates for daylight saving time and standard time float a little. DST kicks off on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November with the return of standard time.
We spend about eight months of the year in DST. We can thank the Uniform Time Act of 1966 for bringing some order to what had been a complicated history of time changes in the US.
"Motivated by transportation improvements, this act mandated standard time within the existing time zones and established a permanent system of uniform DST, including the dates and times for twice-yearly transitions," the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in a history of time zones.
The country's time zones date to the railroad boom of the late 1800s. DST formally entered the chat in 1918, but its application was inconsistent until 1966. The country tried out a year-round daylight saving time in January 1974 under President Richard Nixon as a way to address the energy crisis. It didn't go over well. Congress and President Gerald Ford restored standard time in October 1974.
If you truly hate time changes, then consider moving to Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) or Hawaii. Those states are on standard time all year long and don't have to deal with the physical and mental health impacts of the change. Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands also skip DST.
Read more: Why Is NASA Working on a Time Zone for the Moon?
Sleep experts seek year-round standard time
Organizations such as the National Sleep Foundation, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms are united in calling for permanent standard time, saying it's better for human biology.
"There's a mismatch between the outside world and our internal clocks during daylight saving time that can result in some negative health consequences," says Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation.
Dzierzewski cites mental health concerns and upticks in cardiovascular events and drowsy driving. He also calls out safety issues with young children walking to school or sitting at bus stops in the dark. Those safety issues were a big reason why permanent DST didn't last in 1974.
Will we ditch these time changes for good?
Time changes aren't popular. An October 2024 YouGov poll (PDF link) of more than 1,100 US adults found that 63% would like to see the changing of the clocks eliminated. Only 17% wanted to keep time changes, and 20% weren't sure.
Efforts to end the time changes have failed to pass into law. The bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act, which would have made daylight saving time permanent, passed the Senate in 2022 but went no further. The bill's cosponsors are still pushing for it.
"It isn't just a nuisance -- changing our clocks also has a very real impact on our economy, our health and our happiness," Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts said in a renewed call for passage of the bill in 2024.
While many people agree on eliminating time changes, the schism between daylight saving time and standard time remains. Standard time may have a bit of an image issue compared to DST.
"Part of the issue is that people associate daylight saving time with summer. People love summer, right?" Dzierzewski said. "But the simple fact of the matter is, it would still be summer if we were on permanent standard time."
President Donald Trump criticized time changes in a 2024 Truth Social post: "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient and very costly to our Nation."
Bills and resolutions at the state level haven't had real-world impacts yet. Politicians are still split on whether they want permanent daylight saving or standard time. Dzierzewski is hopeful that permanent standard time will win out. "This is the first time in several years where I've seen more legislation introduced at a state level in support of permanent standard time as the solution," he said.
If you'd like to see time changes end and want to advocate for either daylight saving or standard time, contact your state and national representatives and express your opinion.
Adjust your body clock to daylight saving time
Daylight saving time is happening, so now it's a matter of figuring out how to deal with it. It's not just about the day of the time change.
"You're in a better situation to cope with the effects of the clock change if you have good sleep health generally," Dzierzewski said. He recommends exposure to bright light in the morning, physical activity during the day, eating meals at regular times and practicing a relaxing wind-down routine at night.
The majority of Americans struggle to get the National Sleep Foundation's recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep for most adults. A CNET survey found that more than half of US adults use some method to cope with sleep-related challenges. Check out some expert-backed tips for improving your sleep quality.
"If you're doing these healthy sleep behaviors, you're probably more resilient to some of these changes," Dzierzewski said. "If you have poor sleep to begin with, you're probably going to feel it a little bit more."
Establishing a better sleep routine can take time. There are two things you can do in direct response to the time change. Dzierzewski suggests adjusting your bedtime and wake-up time gradually ahead of the change. For example, you could shift your schedule by 15 minutes per day and ease yourself into DST. He also recommends getting a good dose of bright morning light on the day of the time change to help set your internal body clock.
Think of DST as another kind of wake-up call, one that can motivate you to evaluate your sleep routine and quality and make positive changes. Start with these six simple habits. And don't forget to change your clocks. Do it the night before, and you won't have to worry about it later.
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