Daylight saving time ends soon. Here’s what you need to know

Now that autumn has officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s almost time to turn back the clocks and mentally prepare for the arrival of darkness in the early afternoon.

So get ready for the release of Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” the unofficial soundtrack to the coming to an end of the annual Daylight Savings Time ritual. The return of standard time occurs in the fall and involves turning back the clocks by an hour, which deserves the pathetic motto “go back.”

This can be an unsettling experience as people across much of the country turn back the clocks and try to adjust to the new schedule. Here’s what you need to know about the fall time change.

When does summer time end?

Daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m. local time. In 2024 it will be November 3. Put a reminder on your calendar to change any clocks that don’t automatically switch. Many people find that changing their clocks just before bed, rather than the next morning, is helpful. When you update your calendar, pencil in Sunday, March 9, the start of daylight saving time in 2025.

Standard time vs. daylight saving time

Time standardization in the US has a long and complicated history. The development of railroads in America led to the creation of time zones in 1883. Daylight saving time was formally introduced in 1918, but it fell in and out of favor and was applied inconsistently across the country until the advent of the Uniform Time Act in 1966. “Spurred by transportation improvements, this act imposed standard time on existing time zones and established a permanent system of uniform daylight saving time, including twice-yearly changes in dates and times,” the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in a history of time zones.

Arizona (except Navajo Nation) and Hawaii maintain standard time year-round. The rest of the country has to deal with the effects of twice-yearly time changes. It’s not just your sleep schedule that can suffer. Daylight saving time affects your health in many ways.

The specific dates for daylight saving time and standard time may change from year to year. Daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The National Institute of Standards and Technology crunched the numbers and reported that daylight saving time lasts 238 days, or about 65% of the year. This may make Daylight Savings Time seem more standard than Standard Time, but we are stuck in historical terminology.

Will we ever get rid of time changes?

Time changes are controversial. Many people find it difficult to make this change, especially when summer time ends in the spring and summer time ends. Here are ways to regain rest after losing an hour of sleep. Daylight saving time advocates say it saves energy in the warmer months and provides longer “useful” hours of daylight for outdoor activities. However, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has called for a year-round standard time to best align it with human circadian biology.

Politicians have made efforts to end daylight saving time across the country, but nothing has yet become law and there is debate over whether Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time would be better. The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act — a bipartisan bill that would make daylight saving time permanent — in 2022, but that’s all. “This twice-yearly time change ritual is stupid,” said Senator Marco Rubio, co-sponsor of the bill in 2023. Rubio continues to push for legislation, but shows no signs of progress in 2024.

Coping with the autumn time change

Changing to “emergency” time is usually seen as beneficial because it seems like you get an extra hour of sleep. This only works if you are able to ignore your usual wake-up time and sleep in on Sunday.

Check out these tips for combating time change fatigue. Building good sleep habits shouldn’t be reserved for time changes. Work on healthy sleep all year round and those annoying clock changes won’t depress you as much. If Congress doesn’t act, we’ll be stuck with spring forwards and springbacks for the foreseeable future.