Here's What You Need To Know About Daylight Saving Time This Year
Last year, some US lawmakers finally decided they’d had enough of Daylight Saving Time and created the Sunshine Protection Act, which sought to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent.
The bill got a lot of attention at the time, and it had people wondering if it were truly possible to eliminate the flip-flopping time schedule forever. After all, most people don’t love dealing with encroaching darkness at 4:30 p.m. during the winter, and dark mornings in the spring.
So, what’s the deal with this year? Is Daylight Saving Time ending in 2023 or is it happening again? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Daylight Saving Time?
Daylight Saving Time (a.k.a. DST) is the practice of moving the clocks forward one hour of Standard Time during the warmer months and back an hour in the fall, according to The Farmer’s Almanac. That means there's a 23-hour day in the spring, and a 25-hour day in the fall.
To help people remember to change their clocks, there's a phrase: “spring forward, fall back.”
The idea behind this practice is to cut down on the time people spend in the "dark" when the days are shorter. Specifically, this clock-change is designed to help you get more daylight in the spring and summer evenings, and more daylight during early winter mornings.
Why did it start?
The concept was created by a British man named William Willet, who was a proponent of maximizing daylight hours, The Farmer’s Almanac says. In 1907, Willet published an paper, titled "The Waste of Daylight," that promoted the idea that you should set your clocks forward at the start of spring and summer, and then return to standard time in the autumn.
However, it wasn't until World War I that the idea really took hold. At the time, changing the clocks to create more "daylight" during the workday actually helped save on fuel and power, per the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
What is the Sunshine Protection Act?
The Sunshine Protection Act was a piece of legislation sponsored by two Florida Republicans in 2022 that aimed to eliminate the whole changing clocks for the winter months thing. Basically, the US would no longer “fall back” in the winter and “would enjoy a full year of DST, instead of only eight months,” according to Senator Marco Rubio.
Did it pass in the House and Senate?
Nope. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate approved the legislation, according to Reuters. From there, the bill went on to the House of Representatives, where it fizzled out. TLDR; The legislation never passed.
When does Daylight Saving Time end in 2023?
Unfortunately—as I said—everyone is going to “fall back” on Sunday, November 5, 2023. However, this also means that everyone will also get an extra hour of sleep, and the morning will be less dark.
After that, Daylight Saving Time won't start up again until March 10, 2024, when Daylight Saving Time starts up again, and people lose an hour of sleep.
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