When do clocks ‘fall back’ as daylight saving time ends?
(NEXSTAR) — The days are getting shorter, the air is cooler, and the trees are nearly bare, signaling that daylight saving time is about to end.
Since the 1970s, the U.S. has adjusted clocks twice a year, after several unsuccessful attempts to maintain daylight saving time year-round. Recently, many states have introduced or attempted to pass laws to keep clocks unchanged permanently, but any such changes would require congressional approval.
Several bills advocating for permanent daylight saving time have been introduced in Congress, but despite bipartisan support, none have progressed.
As a result, most of the U.S. (with the exception of one state and parts of another) will set clocks back on Sunday, November 3. We will be on standard time until March 9.
While many proposals aim for permanent daylight saving time, experts in sleep and healthcare argue that permanent standard time is the healthier choice. This change could positively impact various areas, including education, heart health, substance use, speeding, delinquency, and income, according to experts.
Dr. Alaina Tiani, a clinical health psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine at the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorder Center, explained that the main advantage is the increased morning daylight. When clocks “fall back” in November, sunrise times will shift forward by an hour. For some regions, this means moving sunrise from around 7 a.m. to 6 a.m. If the U.S. opted for year-round daylight saving time, sunrises would occur much later, potentially close to 9 a.m. in certain areas.
For instance, in Chicago, when daylight saving time ends next week, sunrise will change from 7:25 a.m. to 6:26 a.m., according to the NOAA solar calculator. Sunrise times will continue to shift later, reaching 7:18 a.m. in January before gradually getting earlier again by March.
Additionally, when daylight saving time concludes, sunset will move from 5:43 p.m. to 4:42 p.m. Sunset times will continue to shift earlier, hitting 4:19 p.m. by mid-December, before gradually getting later again in March.
If daylight saving time were permanent and clocks did not “fall back,” sunrises and sunsets would largely follow the same pattern. In Chicago, the sun would rise after 8 a.m. for over two months, resulting in dark mornings for commutes—an issue that opponents of permanent daylight saving time raised during the 1970s. However, days would feel longer, with sunsets occurring after 5 p.m. in December and January, and after 6 p.m. by February.
Unless Congress acts swiftly in the coming week, prepare for brighter mornings as clocks fall back an hour on November 3.
