The History of DST and the Movement to Stop Changing the Clocks
When we 鈥渇all back鈥 this November, will it be the last time? The Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, yet it never passed the House. What鈥檚 next? Is Daylight Saving Time going to end? Why do we have to change the clocks? Learn more, including why many Americans鈥攆rom farmers to scientists鈥攄islike the twice-yearly time reset.
On the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward 1 hour, beginning Daylight Saving Time. Then, on the first Sunday in November, we set our clocks back 1 hour, signaling the end of Daylight Saving Time and a return to Standard Time. See this year鈥檚 DST dates.
Many Americans (as well as others around the world) believe that changing the clocks is an antiquated wartime practice with more negative than positive results. According to one study, do not want to change their clocks and think it鈥檚 a bad idea. According to another 2022 study, would stop fooling with the clock. You get the idea.
Here鈥檚 the catch: Not everyone agrees on whether the clocks should stay on Standard Time (the clock defined by the Sun) or Daylight Saving Time (DST, the clock that darkens mornings to brighten evenings).
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A CBS News poll in March 2022 found that:
- 33% preferred standard time year-round
- 46% of U.S. residents preferred Daylight Saving Time year-round
- 21% were okay with continuing to clock switch twice a year.
Another found that:
- 13% preferred Standard Time year-round
- 44% of U.S. residents preferred Daylight Saving Time year-round
- 35% were okay with continuing to clock switch twice a year.
In other words, those who want to stick with a single year-round time prefer later sunrise and sunset hours (44%) over the earlier setting offered by standard time (13%).
The number of Americans who want to stop resetting the time and also want to make Daylight Saving Time permanent has been increasing steadily over the decades. This growing frustration change in attitude may be partly due to the computer revolution and other modern-day reasons.
The Latest DST News From the U.S. States
In March 2022, the Senate passed legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The federal Uniform Time Act allows permanent standard time but not permanent DST.
The U.S. Senate passed the , introduced by a Florida senator. This would have established permanent Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. starting in November 2023. To the surprise of many, the Act was passed by unanimous voice consent.
However, since federal law does not currently allow year-round DST, the Sunshine Protection Act needed to be passed by the House and then the President, in June 2022, the U.S. House failed to pass the bill, which expired in December 2022. To be considered again, it will have to be reintroduced.
According to T state legislatures have considered at least 450 bills and resolutions in recent years to establish year-round Daylight Saving Time as soon as federal law allows it.
From 2017 to 2022, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide year-round Daylight Saving Time if Congress allowed such a change and, in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation.
The 19 states are: Colorado (2022); Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Montana (2021); Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio (resolution), South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming (2020); Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington (2019); Florida (2018) ; California voters also authorized the change in 2018, but legislative action is pending. Some states have commissioned studies on the topic, including Massachusetts (2017) and Maine (2021).
According to the NCSL, 鈥淎t least 29 states considered or are considering 75 pieces of legislation related to Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2023鈥擜laska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming. HB 1422 in Texas passed the House on April 11, 2023, which provides that the state will observe Daylight Saving Time year-round; and SB 7 passed the Oklahoma Senate, which would establish year-round Daylight Standard Time. Oklahoma also adopted SCR 9鈥攕upporting the federal Sunshine Protection Act of 2023.鈥
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The History of Time Change
We鈥檝e grappled with the changing of the clocks for decades. Permanent DST has been attempted and reversed twice in the U.S. It started with a change in 1918.
Daylight Saving Was a 鈥淲ar Time鈥 Effort
Historically, the changing of clocks was established by law in 1918 as a fuel-saving measure during World War I.
However, a common myth is that DST was established to extend daylight hours for farmers. This is not true. Farmers were extremely opposed to turning their clocks forward and back every year. Changing hours is actually a disruption for the farmer. Imagine telling a dairy cow accustomed to being milked at 5:00 A.M. that their milking time needs to be moved an hour because the truck is coming to pick up their milk at a different time! For the farmer, plants, and animals, it is the Sun and seasons that determine their activity.
The 1918 law lasted only 7 months. It proved unpopular with farmers and others. However, after its repeal in 1919, some states and localities continued the observance.
It took another war, World War II, for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to introduce a law establishing year-round DST. This 鈥淲ar Time鈥 law lasted from February 9, 1942, to September 30, 1945.
From 1945 to 1966, DST observance was quite inconsistent across the states. There were no uniform rules. This caused massive confusion in the transportation and broadcasting industry, which pushed for standardization. Farmers continued to oppose it.
Uniform Time Act of 1966
To address this confusion, permanent DST was introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 12, 1966, and signed into law as the Uniform Time Act. This established a system of uniformity within each time zone. Daylight Saving Time was the law throughout the United States and its territories. However, states were allowed to opt out of the law, and some did.
Daylight Saving Time Act of 1974
The United States experienced a severe energy crisis in the 1970s. Consequently, in 1974, the Daylight Saving Time Act was signed into law, establishing DST year-round. Although the law was expected to save energy, it was widely unpopular. Because daylight occurred later, many people had to go to school and work in the dark. Parent associations were especially vocal about children waiting for school buses in the dark.
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966 by abolishing the year-round DST and changing the start and end dates of DST in order to lengthen the previous Daylight Saving Time.
- DST would now start on the second Sunday of March (March 11, 2007) instead of on the first Sunday of April (April 1, 2007).
- DST would end the first Sunday of November (November 4, 2007), rather than the last Sunday of October (October 28, 2007).
Congress retained the right to revert to the previous law should the change prove unpopular or if the energy savings would be insignificant. Notably, states were granted the right to opt out of observing DST and remain on standard time. However, they were not allowed to establish DST as year-round. This would require Congress to approve an amendment to the Uniform Time Act.
All states except Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) observe DST.
- Hawaii opted out in 1967 as the Sun rises and sets at about the same time every day, so why bother?
- Arizona opted out in order to give residents lower temperatures during waking and bedtime hours.
U.S. territories not observing DST include Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas.
Does the Time Change Conserve Energy?
A Department of Energy report in 2008 found that during the 4 weeks the U.S. extended DST after the 2005 law, there were savings of about 0.5 percent in electricity per day. Later studies have also shown that the energy savings were minimal. Bottom line: There are no significant savings in electric consumption. Perhaps this would have once been the case, but it is no longer a big factor with modern technology.
Health, Safety, and Other Effects of Time Change
While a time change may seem minor to many folks, a full hour shift in the clock does have reverberations, almost a butterfly effect.
The maintains that Standard Time is better aligned with human circadian biology.
Yet, many other studies favor staying on Daylight Saving Time:
- There is an during these transitions. Specifically, there are fewer deadly car and pedestrian accidents when the times shift to DST.
- Studies also show there is with time changes. Another study showed an association between , especially after the spring shift and in women.
- Similarly, . DST transitions are associated with an increase in hospitalizations from stroke during the first 2 days after circadian rhythm disruption.
- The fall transition to standard time is linked to an increase in crime that costs the country billions of dollars annually. With DST, there is additional daylight in the evenings, which reduces the number of robberies by 27%, according to a 2015 Brookings Institution report.
- According to a study by JP Morgan Chase, there is a drop in economic activity of 2.2% to 4.9% when clocks move back.
- Thanks to additional daylight, there is more physical activity. The Journal of Environmental Psychology found that DST increased pedestrian activity by 62% and cyclist activity by 38% because of additional daylight.
- Children also tend to exercise more with added daylight. This reduces childhood obesity and increases physical fitness, according to studies published by the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity as well as the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
- A 2016 study found evidence that the switch back to standard time in the fall is closely linked to a jump in depression diagnoses and has a significant .
But what about November, when one can get an extra hour of sleep? The reality is that most people do not really get more sleep. And the disruption in the body鈥檚 daily sleep-wake cycle can affect sleep for several days.
鈫&苍产蝉辫;See 5 tips to help your body to adjust to Daylight Saving Time.
What About the Rest of the World?
Frustrations with the DST clock changes are not only in the United States. In the case of the European Union, a poll was conducted in which 80% favored eliminating any time change. Other countries have already ended seasonal clock changes, including Argentina (2009), Russia (2014), and Turkey (2016).
What do you think about Daylight Saving Time? Tell us in your comments below.
Catherine Boeckmann
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When I worked at Ford Tractor in Troy, Michigan in 1964, the State of Michigan did not change the clock, but the Tractor Division started work a half hour earlier. Some shops did something similar and posted "Summer Hours" on their doors.
Is it too difficult for people to start work earlier during the summer instead of forcing everyone to change their clocks? Having interest in the Farming Business I know how difficult it is for milking time when the clocks are changed either forward or backward.
I'm going to be the contrarian here and am frankly shocked that people don't like extra daylight at day's end. Y'all enjoy driving with the blinding LED lights and ridiculous LED streetlights that all are instant migraines and illuminate nothing?! Y'all don't enjoy sitting outside after work, after supper, and watching later sunsets?! I look forward to that every year. I look forward to being to drive later in the day without having to brace myself for migraine lights that make driving hell. Not to mention kids get to play outside longer and thus get more exercise, which is absolutely lacking in today's youth. Reading through these comments was wild! I had no idea so many people were opposed to DST!
Because daylight occurred later, many people had to go to school and work in the dark. Parent associations were especially vocal about children waiting for school buses in the dark.
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you wrote! I think the LED lighting on vehicles is actually a larger problem than changing the time back and forth. I'm not a contrarian, just old.
I don't know, I guess I'm just so tired of the fighting, but it just seems to me that the whole subject is getting twisted around by wether or not it should be permanently standard time or daylight savings. If you just look at the numbers it's very obvious that the bulk of us don't want to change our clocks. The seasons changing naturally lengthens our days, and changes our routines as is. An hour change in a single day is what causes the trouble. You are, no matter what, affected by daylight with your sleep, mood, health ect. That is simply a no brainer. Changing that so rapidly can not end well. I personally don't care about which way it goes just make it stop. I think what a lot of people are missing is the fact that we are so diverse with our ways of living. A person that works first shift wants one thing.... A second shifter another..... And the office workers and store employees again something else.... That ultimately is the truth... So can everybody give a little and realize the best thing is to just stop changing the clocks no matter what. Maybe we need to compromise a little. They love to get us all stirred up and controversial about every thing... It gets so old, and notice how what is getting arrued about here now is the very excuse our government is using as to why the bill will never be passed.... daylight savings or standard.... Arggg! And to think our country servived centuries with out ever changing the clocks, and just don't even start with me about modern times being different. All I know is routines mean everything to health and well being.
I'm sorry, but I can't help myself. The more comments I read the more upset I get. I wish everyone would stop and read over the comments in this thread. Everyone on here are aggravated, upset, and even angry, and why are we that way? Because we are all tired and stressed out, and the thought of one more stressful thing in our lives is just too much. Stop and think about it. We are a really large country, with a big and diverse population. Think of the climate factor from state to state. How about the fact that we're even in different time zones. There are parts of Alaska that have maybe an hour or two of daylight in the winter! What about our jobs? Factory workers with all sorts of shifts that start at different hours. (I know I personally have worked two different factory jobs just in my local town whose shifts actually started at slightly different times.) Some are 8 hour shifts some 12. Farmers, office workers, cashiers, warehouse workers. I could go on and on and on! In reality just about everyone's opinion on here has a note of truth to it. For them! Their lives are affected that way!
Personally I would like it to stay standard time, but if it came down to permanent daylight savings or keep changing the clocks I would say STOP CHANGING THE CLOCKS! I can't help, but believe that this is the way most people feel too. I think it would be much better to let schools, workplaces, stores and such change their hours to match our needs than have the whole base clock and time issue changed.
I can't help but also say that I wish people would stop and think about what they are doing too. We are stuck in a no win situation with our governments as they stand around arguing, and doing nothing. I think we can all find compromises that allow us to finally live in peace, and be able to take care of our own stuff. We keep getting sucked into fights that don't really need fought. If you just read through the comments I challenge you to find maybe one or two people that say they want to keep changing their clocks. So we know the answer it's just the technicalities of it, and it's those very technicalities that are stranding us where nothing ever changes. I don't know bout you but I just want peace in my life, and I guess it's kind of silly for me to even have commented on here as I just put myself in the middle. Oh well sometimes you just feel like talking.
It's STANDARD Time, NOT Daylight Saving Time, that SHOULD be made permanent!
I am fearful of leaving a comment due to believing I may be clustered with all previous commenters. There is absolutely NOTHING in nature that correlates with 'time' so calling one, or the other, 'natural' is ludicrous! Time was conceived of, and instituted by, man, not nature. Time allows for members of a society to function with one another and nothing else. Time provides a convenience! For instance, presume that without time, Doctor's appointments would be established by how many patients could be seen between dawn and sunset. That number of patients would be told to arrive on a certain day at dawn, and would be seen in their order of arrival. At sunset those remaining unseen would be told to leave and return on another occasion. The earlier your arrival, the increased likelihood of being seen on that day. My suggestion is to set clocks ahead monthly, forever forward! Of course then we would have to argue about whether a month is 28 days, 30 days or 31 days. And do not forget the Super Bowl. What do we do when that is played at 3 am? Personally, I would like to meet the person who's comment includes moving a foot of his blanket from the bottom to the top as being some type correlation to changing time aspects. Does anyone have the name of the institution at which he is a current resident?
Like most everyone I know, I want Standard Time all year. Daylight Savings Time is unnatural and should be ended once and for all.
I prefer Standard Time. I鈥檝e always hated changing the clocks back and forth, society can live just fine without messing with the time twice a year. Hopefully government sets a law about this one way or the other soon鈥.it鈥檒l be one less irritating thing to deal with !
