Spring Ahead

March 2, 2023

Cristina Fernandez

SPRING FORWARD Daylight saving time starts this year on March 12. Clocks will leap ahead one hour. OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT: BAONA/GETTY IMAGES. STICKY NOTE AND PIN: ART-PARTNER-IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

On March 12, clocks in the United States and at least 60 other countries “spring forward” one hour for daylight saving time (DST). We lose an hour of sleep. But we get more daylight until November. Then clocks “fall back” as we return to standard time. This cycle has been going on for years.

Last March, the U.S. Senate unanimously unanimously with everyone’s agreement (adverb) The family agreed unanimously on where to get dinner. passed the Sunshine Protection Act. It would make DST permanent. The bill did not become law. It’s unclear if lawmakers will try again. But one thing is certain: The time-change debate isn’t going away. Many factors, from health to energy use, make it a hot topic.

Important History

Daylight saving time was officially enacted in the U.S. in 1966. But the country first tried it in 1918, during World War I. It was a way to save energy. “It also allowed people to do things for the war effort after they got home from work, like plant gardens,” historian David S. Prerau told TIME for Kids. That extra hour still has benefits, he says. “It saves energy. It gets people outdoors. And it’s good for public health.”

Others say DST disrupts sleep. Anne Skeldon is a mathematician. She studies sleep behavior. “The more our sleep patterns and body clock patterns don’t align align to line up beside; to match up with (verb) Make sure to align the books on the shelf. with what we need, for work and school, the worse it is for us, from a health perspective,” she says.

Decision Time

In 1974, DST continued into the winter because of an energy crisis. But in some states, sunrise was as late as 9:00 a.m. Kids had to wait for school buses in the dark. People disliked it. So it was reversed.

In 2022, a CBS News poll found that 46% of Americans want DST to be year-round. They said more daylight puts them in a better mood. About one-third of those surveyed want standard time to be year-round. They said people get better sleep that way. Only 21% like switching back and forth, as we do now. What’s your preference?