Top line
On Sunday, November 3, Daylight Saving Time ends and clocks go back an hour. Dozens of states and millions of Americans believe this return to standard time should not happen at all because it could lead to sleep disruption, increased risk of traffic accidents, worsened mental health problems and other unintended consequences.
A man changes the time on a clock.
Key data
Daylight saving time always lasts from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. On these days, Americans set their clocks forward or back an hour to make use of more daylight hours in the spring and summer months.
But the practice is not universally accepted, and lawmakers at the local and state levels have been pushing for years to make daylight saving time permanent and end the back-and-forth, but not a single proposal has made it through both houses of Congress.
In 2022, lawmakers came closer to that goal when the Senate passed a bill that would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023. But the bill failed to advance in the House, and a new bipartisan bill is not expected to make any difference this year.
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Why is daylight saving time controversial?
Proponents of the practice argue that most Americans would appreciate increasing the number of sunlit hours after work because it improves quality of life and can reduce energy expenditure in the evening hours. But opponents say it does more harm than good. The March “time change” is linked to health risks such as increased heart problems, mood swings and car accidents, says the American Medical Association, adding that some people never adjust to daylight saving time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also says permanent standard time “is more in line with our body’s internal clock.”
Which countries want to introduce daylight saving time permanently?
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers in at least 30 states have already introduced or are considering implementing daylight saving time laws this year. Under the Uniform Time Act, passed in 1966, states are not currently permitted to permanently implement daylight saving time. However, 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions that would do so if federal law were ever changed, and in some cases surrounding states would do so as well. Those states include Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, Utah, Wyoming, and South Carolina. Other states, including Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and New Jersey, will have similar legislation pending in their legislatures this year. Some states are currently considering legislation to the contrary—SB 1200 in Oklahoma, for example, would permanently implement daylight saving time, while SB 69 would implement standard time in the state.
Which countries do not recognize daylight saving time?
Only two states—Arizona and Hawaii—have successfully passed state-level legislation eliminating DST entirely. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have also permanently adopted standard time. Other states have said they would like to do so, but either with caveats that would require neighboring states to do the same (including Georgia, Idaho, and Tennessee) or in legislation that has not yet been passed (including Alaska, Kentucky, New York, and Washington).
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