When Does Daylight Saving End?
Daylight Saving Time 2024 ends on the first Sunday in November. We “fall back” one hour and return to Standard Time on Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 2 a.m. (2 a.m. on this date becomes 1 a.m.) Be sure to set your clocks back one hour before bed Saturday night!
The return of standard time means the Sun will rise a little earlier according to your clock. If you’re an early riser, you’ll enjoy more natural light with your breakfast. You’ll also “gain” one more hour of sleep. The bad news? It will be dark by the time most of us get out of work.
Read: How To Walk Your Dog Safely When It’s Dark
When Will We “Spring Forward” In 2025?
Daylight Saving Time 2025 begins on the second Sunday in March in most areas of the US. In 2025, we will “spring forward” one hour on Sunday, March 9, 2025. At 2 a.m. on this date, the time will spring forward to become 3 a.m.
Who Doesn’t Observe Daylight Saving Time 2024?
According to United States law, states can choose whether or not to observe DST. At present, Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii, plus a few other US territories, are the only places in the US that do not observe Daylight Saving Time and stay on standard time all year long.
Indiana did not vote to observe DST until April 2006. Prior to that, some counties in the state observed it while others didn’t, which caused a lot of confusion, particularly since Indiana is split into two time zones already!
At least 40 countries worldwide observe Daylight Saving Time, including most of Canada, though the majority of Saskatchewan and parts of northeastern British Columbia don’t participate. Most countries near the equator don’t deviate from standard time.
Are You Saying it Correctly?
The correct phrasing is “Daylight Saving Time” (not “Daylight Savings Time” with an “s”), meaning a time for saving daylight!
Is There A Benefit to DST?
The idea behind moving the clocks twice a year is to take advantage of the Sun’s natural electricity (or light). When we spring forward, we’re not really “saving” time; we’re just giving up a little Sun in the morning and adding it to the evening.
How you feel about Daylight Saving Time probably depends on whether you are an early riser or a night owl. Obviously, changing the number on a clock doesn’t actually add any time to our days. That point was eloquently made in this old joke:
When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Native American man said,
“Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.“
However, in the spring, adding an hour of daylight onto the end of the day, after most of us have gotten out of work, can feel like a gift after a long winter of dark evenings. As the warmer spring weather arrives, nothing could be nicer than having more time in the evening to enjoy it!
Try these tips to help you adjust to the time change.
Daylight Saving Time History And New Developments
Since Daylight Saving Time was introduced, lawmakers have, on occasion, seen fit to fiddle with it. This happened in the 70s, during the oil crisis, and again several years ago. In 2007, Daylight Saving Time became longer, beginning in March and ending in November, instead of April and October, respectively.
The latest: On March 15, 2022, the US Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. But the bill does not become law until the House of Representatives votes and the President signs the bill. Discussions have not taken place yet.
If the bill is signed into law, this would mean that this November will be the last time clocks will “fall back.” In March 2025, when we spring forward, the clocks won’t change from year to year.
Read details about your state’s current status via the National Conference of State Legislature.
What would permanent Daylight Saving Time mean for Our health and well-being?
On the bright side, the Sun won’t set so early on winter evenings. But this also means that the Sun will rise later in the morning, (around 8 a.m. for most Northern states during the winter months).
Some people are concerned that dark mornings will make commutes to work and school more difficult—especially for kids being picked up by buses. Others say that a permanent Daylight Saving Time shift may make it harder to fall asleep at night and hinder our ability to function during the day.
Are you looking forward to Daylight Saving Time 2024 ending? Share in the comments!
When the Sun rises, its light activates important hormones in our body that help us be active, calm, and focused. When the Sun sets, darkness releases a different hormone—melatonin—which helps us go to sleep.
Scientist and sleep medicine practitioner Dr. Kin Yuen suggests that permanent Daylight Saving Time may cause increased metabolic issues (diabetes, hypoglycemia, and weight gain) as well as greater fatalities. Learn more from the video below:
Is Benjamin Franklin To Blame For Daylight Saving Time?
Ben Franklin is often credited for inventing the idea of Daylight Saving Time, due to his partially tongue-in-cheek letter to a newspaper in Paris. (Read Franklin’s letter.)
However, Franklin seemed to understand the point of view of the Native American in the joke, above. Rather than changing the clocks, he simply advised us to change our personal schedules to align better with nature.
