It may still feel like we’re in the height of summer, but fall is quickly approaching and with it comes shorter days and longer nights.

Daylight saving time went into effect in the United States on March 12, and although Congress attempted to make the time change permanent, no such measure was passed and, as a result, we Let’s go back in the coming months. . .

Here’s what you need to know:

When will daylight saving time end?

Under federal law, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and extends through the first Sunday in November in most of the United States.

This year, that date falls on November 5, and the clocks go back one hour at 2 a.m. on that day.

When will daylight saving time return?

In 2024, daylight saving time will take an extra day to return thanks to leap years and will resume on March 10, moving clocks forward one hour.

What is daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is a clock change that typically begins in the spring and ends in the fall, often referred to as “forward” and “backward.”

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

On these days, the clocks are moved forward or backward by one hour.

But it wasn’t always this way.

The clocks went forward on the first Sunday in April and stayed that way until the last Sunday in October, but a change was made in part to allow children to trick-or-treat more brightly on Halloween.

In the United States, Daylight Saving Time lasts a total of 34 weeks, from early to mid-March until early November in states that observe it.

Some people like to credit Benjamin Franklin as the inventor of daylight saving time when he wrote in a 1784 essay about candle conservation and said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy , rich and wise. » But it was more a satire than a serious consideration.

Germany was the first to adopt daylight saving time on May 1, 1916, during World War I, to save fuel. The rest of Europe followed soon after.

The United States did not adopt daylight saving time until March 19, 1918. It was not popular and was abolished after World War I.

On February 9, 1942, Franklin Roosevelt established year-round daylight saving time, which he called “wartime.” This lasted until September 30, 1945.

Daylight saving time became the standard in the United States until the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated standard time nationwide in established time zones. He said the clocks would go forward one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in April and go back one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.

States could still opt out of DST, as long as the entire state did so. In the 1970s, due to the 1973 oil embargo, Congress enacted a year-round trial period of daylight saving time, from January 1974 to April 1975, to conserve energy.

Which states observe daylight saving time?

Almost every state in the United States observes DST, except Arizona (although some Native American tribes observe DST in their territories) and Hawaii.

United States territories, including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, do not observe daylight saving time.

What is standard time?

According to the website Time and datestandard time is the local time of a country or region when daylight saving time is not used.

“More than 60% of the world’s countries use standard time year-round,” the site says. “All other countries use daylight saving time during the summer months, usually moving clocks forward one hour from standard time.”

According to the AASM, standard time is the time closest to our body’s internal clock.

“The daily cycle of natural light and darkness is the most powerful time signal for synchronizing our body’s internal clock,” says the Illinois-based organization. “When we receive more light in the morning and darkness at night, our bodies and nature are better aligned, making it easier to wake up for our daily activities and fall asleep in the evening. Daylight saving time disrupts our clock internal, leading to loss and poor quality sleep, which has negative health consequences.

Which is better?

There American Academy of Sleep Medicine has called for a permanent change to standard time for years, saying that “there is ample evidence of the negative short-term consequences of seasonal time changes.”

The AASM warned that “making DST permanent overlooks potential health risks that can be avoided by establishing a permanent standard time.”

“Current evidence best supports the adoption of a standard year-round program, which better aligns with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits to public health and safety,” said the group in a press release.

According to Ministry of transportation, daylight saving time has several advantages. The DOT website highlights the following:

• Save energy. During daylight saving time, the sun sets an hour later in the evening, reducing the need to use electricity for lighting and appliances. People tend to spend more time outside in the evening during daylight saving time, which reduces the need to use electricity at home. Additionally, because sunrise is very early during the summer months, most people wake up after sunrise, which means they turn on fewer lights in their home.
• Save lives and avoid road accidents. During summer time, more people go to school, work and run errands during the day.
• Reduces crime. During daylight saving time, more people go about their business during the day rather than at night, when more crimes occur.

Sheldon Jacobson, PhD, professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said that it might be possible to reach an agreement.

Jacobson writes this opinion piece for The Hillurging lawmakers to split the difference when it comes to time changes.

“Why not reach an interim agreement, as we have proposed here, which represents a change of 30 minutes?” Jacobson said.

“You don’t get all the negative effect of circadian rhythms, which doctors are concerned about; at the same time, you soften the light balance that people prefer to have at the beginning or end of the day,” Jacobson added. .

One potential problem with a 30-minute shift is that we would be out of sync with our other North American neighbors.

“I am confident that if we do this, Canada and Mexico will do the same, especially Canada, which has a very long border, over 2,000 miles, with the United States,” Jacobson said. “And what we will see is the start of a trend that could really affect and help everyone because there will be no change. “We don’t have to worry about it twice a year. »