Daylight Saving Time Ends in a Week: Get Ready to Fall Back

Fall is here and it’s almost time to change your clocks that don’t adjust automatically. Two days after Halloween, most of the United States will turn the clock back one hour. Daylight saving time ends on November 2, and the time officially changes at 2 a.m.

Jet lag is known to disrupt sleep habits and schedules. Some politicians are pushing for abolish time changes and stay on Daylight Saving Time, or DST, forever. If you also don’t like nightfall so early each day, remember that brighter evenings will return after four months.

When does daylight saving time end?

In the United States, Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 2. She returns at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 8. The end of daylight saving time has the motto “go back”, while in March we will “go forward”.

The United States is not the only one to observe daylight saving time. Check out this list of other countries that use daylight saving time, along with their start and end dates.

Daylight Saving Time vs. Standard Time

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The exact start dates for DST and Standard Time are floating around a bit. Daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November with the return to standard time.

We spend about eight months a year on daylight saving time. We can thank the Uniform Time Act of 1966 for bringing order to what had been a complicated history of time changes in the United States.

“Motivated by transportation improvements, this law mandated standard time in existing time zones and established a permanent system of uniform daylight saving time, including the dates and times of semiannual transitions,” the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in a history of time zones.

The country’s time zones date from the railroad boom of the late 1800s. Daylight saving time officially took effect in 1918, but its application remained inconsistent until 1966. The country tried year-round daylight saving time in January 1974 under President Richard Nixon in order to deal with the energy crisis. This didn’t go well. Congress and President Gerald Ford restored standard time in October 1974.

If you really hate time changes, consider moving to Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) or Hawaii. These states are on standard time year-round and do not 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 ignore DST.

Learn 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 uniting to call for a permanent standard time, saying it is better for human biology.

“There is a mismatch between the outside world and our internal clocks during daylight saving time, which can have negative health consequences,” says Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation.

Dzierzewski cites mental health issues and an increase in cardiovascular events and drowsy driving. He also denounces safety concerns related to young children walking to school or sitting at bus stops in the dark. These security concerns were one of the main reasons why permanent daylight saving time did not last in 1974.

Are we going to permanently abandon these time changes?

Time changes are not popular. An October 2024 YouGov poll (PDF link) of more than 1,100 American adults found that 63% would like to see the time change eliminated. Only 17% want to keep the time changes and 20% are not sure.

Efforts to end time changes have not resulted in legislation. The bipartisan Sun Protection Act, which would have made DST permanent, passed the Senate in 2022 but went no further. The bill’s cosponsors continue to push for the bill.

“It’s not just a nuisance: Changing our clocks also has a very real impact on our economy, our health and our happiness,” said Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts in a new call for the bill to pass in 2024.

Although many people agree on eliminating time changes, the divide between daylight saving time and standard time remains. Standard time may have a little picture problem compared to daylight saving time.

“Part of the problem is that people associate DST with summer. People love summer, don’t they?” Dzierzewski said. “But the simple fact is, it would still be summer if we were on permanent standard time.”

President Donald Trump criticized the time changes in a 2024 Truth Social article: “The Republican Party will do its best to eliminate DST, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight saving time is inconvenient and very costly to our nation.

State-level bills and resolutions have yet to have any concrete impact. Politicians are still divided on whether they want a permanent change to daylight saving time or standard time. Dzierzewski hopes permanent standard time will prevail. “This is the first time in several years that I have seen more legislation introduced at the state level in favor of permanent standard time as a solution,” he said.

If you would like to see an end to time changes and advocate for Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time, contact your state and national representatives and voice your opinion.

Adjust your body clock to daylight saving time

Daylight saving time is in effect, so now it’s a matter of figuring out how to deal with it. It’s not just about the time change day.

“You’re in a better situation to deal with the effects of the time change if you have good sleep in general,” Dzierzewski said. It recommends exposure to bright light in the morning, physical activity during the day, meals at regular times, and a relaxing wind-down routine in the evening.

The majority of Americans struggle to get the 7 to 9 hours of sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation for most adults. A CNET survey found that more than half of American adults use some method to deal with sleep-related problems. Discover some expert tips to improve the quality of your sleep.

“If you practice these healthy sleep behaviors, you’re probably more resilient to some of these changes,” Dzierzewski said. “If you sleep poorly at first, you’ll probably feel it a little 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 gradually adjusting your bedtime and wake-up time before the change. For example, you can shift your schedule by 15 minutes per day and easily switch to Daylight Saving Time. He also recommends getting a healthy dose of bright morning light on the day of the time change to help set your internal body clock.

Consider DST as another type 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 the time. Do it the day before and you won’t have to worry about it later.