Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of adjusting the clocks by one hour twice a year to make better use of daylight. The idea was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, but it was not widely adopted until the 20th century, when countries such as Germany, Britain, and the United States implemented it to save energy during World War I. Since then, DST has been used by many nations around the world, with different start and end dates, to align their time zones with the seasonal changes in daylight hours.
The main purpose of DST is to extend the daylight hours in the evening, which can have various benefits, such as reducing electricity consumption, improving road safety, boosting tourism, and encouraging outdoor activities. However, DST also has some drawbacks, such as disrupting the circadian rhythms of humans and animals, causing health problems, increasing accidents, and creating confusion across different time zones.
When Does Daylight Saving Time End in 2023?
In most parts of the United States, DST will end on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 2:00 a.m. local time, when the clocks will “fall back” an hour to standard time. This means that people will gain an extra hour of sleep, if desired, but also experience earlier sunsets. The exception is Hawaii and Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), which do not observe DST, as well as the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The end of DST also marks the return of standard time, which is the official time used by the federal government and most states. Standard time is based on the coordinated universal time (UTC), which is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. UTC is determined by highly precise atomic clocks that are synchronized with the rotation of the Earth.
How to Adjust to the Time Change?
The time change from DST to standard time can have various effects on the body and mind, such as disrupting the sleep cycle, affecting the mood, and impairing the cognitive performance. To cope with the time change, experts recommend some tips, such as:
- Gradually adjust your sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up 15 minutes earlier a few days before the time change.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine before bedtime, as they can interfere with the quality of sleep and make it harder to fall asleep.
- Expose yourself to natural light in the morning and avoid bright light in the evening, as this can help regulate your circadian rhythm and melatonin production, which are responsible for your sleep-wake cycle.
- Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet, as this can improve your physical and mental well-being, and help you cope with stress and fatigue.
- Be careful on the road and avoid driving when you are drowsy, as the time change can affect your alertness and reaction time, and increase the risk of accidents.
Will Daylight Saving Time End Permanently?
The debate over the merits and drawbacks of DST has been ongoing for decades, and some people have advocated for abolishing DST or making it permanent. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make DST permanent across the country, but it did not pass in the U.S. House of Representatives and was not signed into law by President Joe Biden. A 2023 version of the act has remained idle in Congress as well.
The proponents of the bill argue that making DST permanent would eliminate the negative effects of the time change, such as disrupting the sleep cycle, affecting the health, and increasing the accidents. They also claim that DST would provide more daylight hours in the evening, which would benefit the economy, the environment, and the society. The opponents of the bill, however, contend that DST would reduce the daylight hours in the morning, which would affect the school children, the farmers, and the outdoor workers. They also point out that DST would create more discrepancies and confusion across different time zones, especially for the states and territories that do not observe DST.
