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At 2 a.m. local time on the second Sunday of March, clocks around the country will "spring forward" one hour to 3 a.m., marking the start of daylight saving time and the end of standard time. For decades, this shift has cost Americans a valuable hour of their weekend that they won't see again until clocks move back during the first Sunday of November. But an end to the tradition may be closer than ever before. According to USA Today, the federal government first enacted daylight saving to conserve coal during World War I in the spring of 1918. But...

Three years after California voters approved a ballot initiative to take the first steps toward staying on daylight saving time the entire year, the state is preparing to “fall back” to standard time this weekend like nearly all of the U.S. And as the debate over the seasonal time change continues, a state lawmaker says all options are still on the table in the California Legislature — even a possible move to year-round standard time. Inaction by Congress, however, means California and other states looking to end the time change currently aren’t allowed to stay on daylight saving time throughout...

There was a time before light became easier to produce in early American agrarian when Daylight Saving Time made sense. The utility of changing clocks twice a year has been long gone, but we’ve maintained it because changing it was a process. That process has begun. According to Reuters: The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to make Daylight Savings Time permanent, a move supporters say would make winter afternoons brighter and end the twice changing of clocks. The measure still needs approval from the U.S. House of Representatives and the backing of President Joe Biden. On Sunday, most of...

WASHINGTON - The Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year. The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure 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. “No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles - that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the original cosponsor...

In a 2015 study published in Sleep Medicine, researchers compared the rate of strokes during the week after daylight saving to the rate 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after. They found the rate was 8% higher the first 2 days after the shift, and people with cancer were 25% more likely to have a stroke than during other times of year. People over 65 were 20% more likely. A 2019 report found a higher risk of heart attack after both time changes, but particularly during daylight saving. Interruptions to circadian rhythm can also impair focus and judgment. A 2020...

The American Heart Association has issued its yearly reminder that incidents of heart disease and stroke go up at daylight saving time — a biological "clock shock" thus far unexplained. Changing the clock changes up our body's production of hormones, including melatonin, the night-time hormone that affects sleep; cortisol, the stress hormone; and serotonin, the "feel-good" hormone that helps keep depression and anxiety at bay. It's especially important over the next few days to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even, as difficult as it is to hear, on weekends. Bhat says...

Which states are trying to change daylight saving time? In the last four years, 18 states have enacted legislation or resolutions to keep residents on year-round daylight saving time, pending Congressional approval. In some cases, the legislation stipulates that neighboring states enact similar legislation. These states have already enacted legislation or resolutions to adhere to year-round daylight saving time: Alabama California (authorized by voters, not yet enacted) Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Montana Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Utah Washington Wyoming This year alone, nearly 30 states are considering legislation regarding daylight saving time, according to the...

For decades, many Americans have fiddled with their clocks each March and November as they “spring forward” or “fall back” to keep pace with daylight saving time (DST). Experts have historically claimed that the practice, which has roots in late 19th century and was widely instituted in 1966, benefits society by extending our sunlit hours and saving energy costs, although many others have called those benefits into question, as Amanda Kooser reports for CNET. Last week, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) entered the debate, calling for the end of DST-related time-changes altogether. Instead, AASM leaders wrote in a...

On this day in 1883, railroad companies create the first time zones. Yes, you heard that right. Private individuals saw a problem and solved it without involving the federal government. What a wonderfully American “do it yourself” mindset! Such determination and perseverance is what made our country great. Before time zones, Americans generally relied upon the local time in their communities. That local time was based upon the movement of the sun in the sky, so the time could vary from city to city. Cities would usually designate one clock in the area—perhaps at a certain church or business—as the...

Having been buoyed by the election results this year, I did not suffer my usual depression of adjusting the clocks back to daylight standard time as deeply as usual. It seems some folks are very sensitive to this biannual experiment with time. Some suffer in the spring as we, “spring forward” and others, like me, have a hard time adjusting to the early darkness of, “falling back”.