Do you feel the sun starting to linger in the sky a bit longer than yesterday? What about when you compare it to a few weeks ago? Believe it or not, we’re gaining roughly 2 minutes of sunlight every single day.
Yes – our biannual time change is nearly upon us once again. It may seem hard to believe but it’s already been four months since we set our clocks back. But March means the end of winter and beginnings of spring.
In the spring you ‘spring forward’ and in the fall you ‘fall backward’. This year, we’re moving our clocks up an hour on Sunday, March 12.
How to prepare for Daylight Saving Time –Start making changes the week before the start of DST:
Start the week before by getting as much light as possible each day. This can help adjust your body rhythm for the change to come.
Start winding down a little earlier in the evenings ahead. While you can never make up lost sleep, going into the time change well-rested can help.
Don’t compensate with extra caffeine. It may feel like an extra coffee or two can help you through the midday slump, but too much can only leave you more tired once the caffeine wears off.
Don’t take a nap. Most people don’t get enough sleep at any time; adding a cat nap to your afternoon can make it even harder to sleep well that night.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is defined as a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of standard time. According to federal law, it always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
The practice of falling back in the U.S. started in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. By moving the clocks ahead an hour, backers believed the country could divert a bit of coal-fired electricity to the military instead of using it for an hour of home power. It was re-enacted in World War II in an effort to conserve fuel.
It was re-pealed again when the war ended, but some states, continued to observe daylight saving time while others kept standard time year-round.
Daylight saving time from spring to early fall became the national standard in the 1960s when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act.
The United States has tried year-round daylight saving time twice before, the first time from 1942-1945. A daylight saving time trial in 1974 lasted only about 10 months before Congress, facing widespread public criticism, voted to undo the change.
Although year-round daylight saving time would take on an extra hour of daylight in the late afternoon and early evening during the fall and winter months, it would mean many of America’s children would be getting to school in the dark.
What is the Sunshine Protection Act?
In March, 2022, the Senate unanimously approved a measure that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States in November 2022.
The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would have ensured Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.
Nothing came of this movement and, in 2023, we still have Daylight Saving Time.
Members of Congress have long been interested in the potential benefits and costs of daylight saving time, but whether the House will take up the Sunshine Protection Act this year is still up in the air.