Millions of Americans will lose an hour of sleep as daylight saving time begins, while lawmakers, scientists and advocacy groups remain sharply divided on whether the country should adopt permanent daylight saving time, permanent standard time or eliminate the shift entirely.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Most Americans will move their clocks forward one hour early Sunday morning as daylight saving time returns, creating a shorter 23-hour day that disrupts sleep schedules and reignites a long-running national debate over whether the twice-a-year time change should continue.
At 2 a.m. local time Sunday, clocks across most of the United States will advance by one hour, shifting sunrise and sunset times later into the day. The seasonal adjustment often produces temporary sleep disruption, darker early mornings and widespread frustration among Americans who question the need for the biannual shift.
Despite broad public dissatisfaction with the current system, efforts to overhaul it have repeatedly stalled because lawmakers, scientists and industry groups disagree on the best solution.
Any attempt to eliminate the clock changes would require federal legislation. Although numerous proposals have surfaced in recent years, none have succeeded in creating a permanent national policy.
Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that later sunsets would benefit commerce and evening recreation. However, critics note that such a change would push winter sunrises much later in northern states.
For example, if daylight saving time remained in place year-round, winter sunrises in cities such as Detroit would occur around 9 a.m. for a period of time.
Those who favor permanent standard time say the current shift disrupts biological rhythms and public safety. But maintaining standard time throughout the year would result in extremely early summer sunrises in some regions. In Seattle, for instance, the sun would rise at approximately 4:11 a.m. in June under a permanent standard-time system.
Advocacy organizations on both sides of the debate say no legislative solution can alter the underlying astronomical realities.
“There’s no law we can pass to move the sun to our will,” said Jay Pea, president of Save Standard Time, a group campaigning to eliminate daylight saving time permanently.
The ongoing disagreement has left Americans divided on the issue.
According to an AP-NORC poll conducted last year, roughly one in ten U.S. adults supports the current system of changing clocks twice annually. About half of respondents oppose the practice, while roughly four in ten reported having no strong opinion.
When asked to choose between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time, most respondents favored year-round daylight saving time.
The United States has modified its approach to timekeeping multiple times over the past century. Railroads established standardized time zones in 1883 to coordinate train schedules, and daylight saving time has been adopted and repealed intermittently since then.
The policy was implemented nationwide during World War II and again briefly in 1974 during the energy crisis. That earlier experiment with permanent daylight saving time proved unpopular and was later abandoned.
Globally, many countries have experimented with similar seasonal clock adjustments. Approximately 140 nations have used daylight saving time at some point, though only about half currently observe the practice.
In the United States, legislative activity surrounding the issue has intensified over the past decade.
Since 2018, nineteen states have passed laws supporting a switch to permanent daylight saving time. However, those measures cannot take effect unless Congress passes legislation allowing the change.
The U.S. Senate approved a bill in 2022 that would have established permanent daylight saving time nationwide, but a companion measure in the House of Representatives was never brought to a vote.
Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, who has introduced similar legislation repeatedly, said resistance from certain industries has slowed progress.
According to Rogers, the airline industry has raised concerns that altering the time system could complicate international flight scheduling, discouraging lawmakers from advancing the proposal.
Other lawmakers have proposed alternative solutions.
Representative Greg Steube of Florida has suggested a compromise that would move the national clock forward by 30 minutes permanently, placing the country halfway between standard time and daylight saving time.
“Why not just split the baby?” Steube said. “Move it 30 minutes so it would be halfway between the two.”
Under such a plan, the United States would operate on a unique time offset relative to many other countries. Similar arrangements exist elsewhere: India operates on a single national time zone and Nepal’s time is set 15 minutes ahead of India’s.
Medical researchers, however, often advocate for maintaining permanent standard time.
Karin Johnson, vice president of Save Standard Time and a neurology professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, said natural morning sunlight plays a critical role in regulating biological rhythms.
“Morning light is what’s really critical for setting our circadian rhythms each day,” Johnson said.
Kenneth Wright, director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado, said scientific evidence indicates health risks increase following the spring clock change.
“Based on the evidence for our health and well-being and safety, the best option for us as a country now is to choose to go to permanent standard time,” Wright said.
Research has shown that in the days immediately following the shift to daylight saving time, rates of fatal vehicle crashes, heart attacks and strokes increase.
Only two U.S. states currently avoid the clock change altogether. Hawaii and most of Arizona remain on standard time throughout the year, though the Navajo Nation within Arizona observes daylight saving time.
Several other states have considered similar legislation.
During the past two years, at least six states have advanced bills supporting permanent standard time in one legislative chamber. In Virginia, lawmakers approved such a measure earlier this year before a House committee recommended postponing further consideration until 2027.
Many of those state proposals include provisions requiring neighboring states to adopt the same policy before the change could take effect. Virginia’s proposal, for example, would only move to permanent standard time if Maryland and Washington, D.C., also participated.
Supporters say regional coordination could reduce scheduling confusion for transportation systems and broadcast schedules.
Some industries, however, oppose permanent standard time because it would shorten evening daylight hours during much of the year. The golf industry has argued that earlier sunsets would reduce time available for after-work rounds during warmer months.
Advocates seeking to eliminate the clock change entirely continue pushing for federal action.
Scott Yates, a Colorado activist who runs the website Lock the Clock, has called for Congress to pass legislation ending the twice-yearly time change within two years.
Under his proposal, states would be required to commit to either permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time.
Until lawmakers reach an agreement, Americans will continue adjusting their clocks each spring and fall.
Yates offered a practical suggestion for easing the transition.
“If you’re the boss, tell all your employees on Monday that they can come in an hour later,” he said. “And if you aren’t the boss, tell your boss that you think you should come in an hour later on Monday. Sleep in for safety.”