Sunday is Daylight Saving Time. Clock Setting: When, How, and Why?

Sunday is Daylight Saving Time. The clocks will spring forward this weekend for most Americans, including Illinoisans.

Time changes officially at 2 a.m. on Sunday for daylight saving time states.

Every year, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. According to the law, the time change will last until the first Sunday in November.

It’ll push sunset to nearly 7 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day next week, breaking a barrier. While we’ll have more daylight, we’ll lose one hour of sleep.

Here’s everything you need to know about DST, including its history, controversy, and how to cope.

What time does daylight saving time start?

As a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966, daylight saving time will start on March 12, 2023.

Time change at 2 a.m.

Unlike the autumn time change, when clocks “fall back” to 1 a.m. after daylight savings ends.

What time does daylight saving time end?

We’ll end daylight saving time at 2 a.m. Nov. 5, 2023.

How does daylight saving time work?

The clocks change during daylight saving time, which is also called “spring forward” and “fall back.”

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 says daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

There’s an hour shift either forward or backward on those days.

It wasn’t always like that.

In part to let kids trick-or-treat in more daylight, the clocks used to spring ahead on the first Sunday in April and stayed that way until the final Sunday in October.

States that observe daylight saving time observe it from early-to-mid March to the beginning of November.

In a 1784 essay about saving candles, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” But that was more of a satire than a serious statement.

As a way to conserve fuel, Germany adopted daylight saving time on May 1, 1916. Soon after, the rest of Europe followed.

It wasn’t until March 19, 1918 that daylight saving time was adopted in the U.S. After World War I, it was abolished.

Franklin Roosevelt instituted daylight saving time on Feb. 9, 1942. It lasted until Sept. 30, 1945.

Daylight saving time wasn’t standard in the US until 1966, when the Uniform Time Act mandated standard time across the country within established time zones. Clocks advance one hour at 2 a.m. the last Sunday in April and turn back one hour on the last Sunday in October.

States could still exempt themselves from daylight saving time if they did it as a whole. To save energy during the 1973 oil embargo, Congress enacted year-round daylight saving time from January 1974 to April 1975.

Sunshine Protection Act, what happened?

With the Sunshine Protection Act, passed unanimously by the Senate last year, the seasonal changing of clocks will be eliminated in the U.S., except for Hawaii and parts of Arizona.

While the bill passed in the Senate, it stalled in the House, where it remained in a committee until the previous Congress ended.

Thoughts on the potential shift vary.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Sunshine Protection Act to reduce crime, encourage kids to play outside, and reduce heart attacks.

On the Senate floor in March, Rubio said there’s some science behind clock-switching that shows and makes people aware of the harm it causes.

Traffic accidents in the U.S. rose 6% after daylight saving started in 2020, according to a study. According to other studies, daylight saving causes small increases in workplace injuries and medical errors. In 2019, a study found that heart attacks increased after clocks sprung forward, though other research didn’t.

Despite mixed research, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports the opposite switch to permanent standard time because it shows that bodies work best with more sunlight in the morning.

“I’ve been getting calls from constituents who want permanent standard time because they’re worried about children waiting too long for the bus during the winter,” said Rep. A Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Jan Schakowsky represents Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.

In addition, Schakowsky has heard from constituents who want longer daylight hours.

“We know the majority of Americans don’t want to keep switching the clocks back and forth,” the congresswoman said.

The AASM, based in Illinois, says standard time might be better for our bodies.

Our body’s internal clock is synchronized by the daily cycle of natural light and darkness, according to AASM. Our bodies and nature are more aligned when we get more light in the morning and darkness in the evening, so we’re able to wake up and fall asleep more easily. “Daylight saving time disrupts our internal clock, which leads to poor sleep quality and sleep loss, which in turn hurts our health.”

“More populous cities would also suffer from darker mornings – in January, New York City would get up at 8:20 a.m. With permanent daylight saving time, sunrise wouldn’t come until 8:20 in the morning. It’d be almost 8 a.m. in Los Angeles in January, and almost 9 a.m. in Minneapolis.”

Daylight saving time is observed in which states?

Except for Arizona (although some Native American tribes observe DST in their territories) and Hawaii, nearly every state observes daylight saving time. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands don’t observe daylight saving time.

How does standard time work?

Time and Date says standard time is when daylight savings time isn’t in effect in a country or region.

The site says more than 60% of countries use standard time all year. DST is used by the rest of the world during the summer months, generally setting the clocks forward one hour.”

The AASM says it’s standard time because it’s more in sync with our bodies.

According to the Illinois-based organization, “the daily cycle of natural light and darkness synchronizes our body’s internal clock.” The morning light and the evening darkness align better with our bodies and nature, so we wake up easier and fall asleep easier. “Daylight saving time disrupts our internal clock, which leads to poor sleep quality and sleep loss, which in turn leads to negative health consequences.”

What’s better? Here’s what sleep experts think

In any case, whether daylight saving time is permanent or standard time takes over, Dr. Sexton-Radek, a consultant for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Public Safety Committee and a psychology professor at Elmhurst College with a sleep medicine specialization, says changing clocks can be bad for you.

As she told NBC Chicago earlier this year, the shift can “skew or put off-center the normal systems that trigger structures in our brain that tell us when it’s time to sleep and wake,” she said.

Sexton-Radek says such shifts can cause mood swings, fatigue, and concentration problems.

“Light is the most powerful timing cue for the human body clock,” Erin Flynn-Evans, who runs NASA’s Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory, said in a statement. The switch to permanent daylight saving time in the winter would result in more darkness in the morning and more light in the evening, misaligning the body’s daily rhythm with routine social obligations, like work. It can make it hard for people to fall asleep at night, disrupting sleep quality and causing sleep loss, which can affect health and safety.”

As of now, legislation is on the table to make daylight saving time permanent, but the AASM says it should be permanent standard time instead, in part to ensure morning commute safety.

Dark mornings caused by permanent daylight saving time pose numerous safety concerns for morning commuters and kids heading to school. “This would be especially problematic during the winter months when the days become shorter every day.”

According to studies, more darkness during early morning commutes may also increase traffic fatalities.

Permanent daylight savings time would also “disproportionately” affect people living in the north.

“Some parts of Montana, North Dakota and Michigan wouldn’t see sunrise until after 9:30 a.m. during the winter,” the AASM said.

The organization’s sleep experts say seasonal time changes are bad for health overall. The changes have been linked to more strokes, hospital admissions, and cardiovascular events, according to the AASM.

The chronic effects of daylight saving time may lead to higher risk of adverse health problems when compared with standard time, according to a study.

There are a lot of benefits to daylight saving time, according to the Department of Transportation. Here’s what the DOT’s website says:

Energy is saved. With Daylight Saving Time, the sun sets one hour later in the evenings, so household lighting and appliances use less electricity. During Daylight Saving Time, people tend to spend more time outside, so they use less electricity. Since the sunrise is so early in the morning during the summer, most people wake up after the sun has already risen, which means fewer lights are on.

It saves lives and prevents traffic accidents. Daylight Saving Time means more people travel to and from school and work and run errands.

Crime goes down. As a result of Daylight Saving Time, more people are out in the daylight rather than at night, when more crime happens.

What’s right: daylight saving time or daylight saving time?

Thesaurus.com says daylight saving time is right.

The website says: “Daylight-saving time (singular saving) is the correct version: the practice is saving daylight.” However, daylight-saving time (with the plural saving) is so commonly used that it’s accepted.

According to Thesaurus.com, the “s” may have caught on because “savings” is often used to refer to money.

There’s also the hyphen,” the explanation continues. “Some people leave it off while others include it. We hyphenate it because daylight-saving together modifies the word time.”

Daylight saving time: how to prepare?

You don’t have to lose sleep because of daylight saving time. Make a few simple adjustments to your routine to deal with the time change. What’s the best part? Whether you’re a kid or an adult, these tips work.

Rethink your bedtime: “Go to bed 15 minutes earlier two or three days before the time change.” “This will help you be well-rested before the clock change, so any resulting ‘sleep debt’ won’t feel as extreme,” said Candice Alfano, Ph.D., director of the University of Houston’s Sleep and Anxiety Center.

“Set your wake up time 30 minutes ahead a few days before daylight savings time.” As a result, you’ll be able to adjust to the time change more easily,” Dr. Ana Krieger, the sleep medicine director at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, said.

“Take advantage of your earlier start by shifting your activities to an earlier schedule, including dinner, exercise, and bedtime,” Krieger said.

Ash says you can trick your brain by changing the time on your wristwatch 15 minutes ahead each day before daylight saving time to provide that visual cue.

How to deal with daylight savings time sleep deprivation

You’re feeling a bit groggy now that daylight saving time’s over, huh? It’s not just about grin and bear it. To help mitigate the time change, here are a few tips:

Try to resist taking naps if you’re sleepy the day after a change because this will cause longer-term sleep problems by reducing the amount of sleep pressure at bedtime. “If you have to nap, keep it to 15 to 20 minutes, ideally in the late morning,” Alfano says.

You’ll feel less tired if you get plenty of sunlight in the morning after the change, Alfano says. “Light has a powerful effect on our internal body clock.”.

“Avoid caffeinated beverages, chocolates, and alcohol three hours before bed,” Ash said.

Make sure your kids don’t leave work to be done in the morning before school starts since their brains will be in a fog – or asleep – in the early morning, Krieger suggested.

Don’t exercise too late: “Moderate-to-high intensity exercise should be done earlier in the day, since late-night exercise can interfere with sleep.” Mark Aloia, Ph.D., global lead for behavior change at Philips Healthcare, told TODAY that exercise activates the sympathetic nervous system, and that may affect sleep propensity next night.

We’re shifting our circadian phase toward sleep, so exposing ourselves to too much light at this time can result in trouble falling asleep. Reducing screen time: “Light from devices can affect one’s circadian phase. If the content we’re watching is activating and anxiety provoking, it can interfere with our emotions and interrupt sleep,” Aloia said.

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