Most Americans enjoy snoozing for an extra hour one night in the fall. That’s when our clocks “fall back.” But some will be pretty annoyed when they lose that hour of sleep in the spring. (This year, that will take place March 9.) Setting clocks an hour ahead (“springing forward”) is called daylight saving time. President-elect Donald Trump and some other lawmakers want to get rid of it.
The President-elect wrote on social media that daylight saving time is inconvenient. He says that he and the Republican party will work to end it.
The United States first practiced daylight saving time in the early 1900s. It was called “war time” during World War II. The idea was to give people more daylight in the evenings. That allowed them to use less fuel and electricity.
After the war, states made their own rules about time. But that got confusing. So Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. That set a national standard time.
Most states today practice daylight saving time. But Arizona and Hawaii don’t change the clocks at all.
In 2022, lawmakers proposed the Sunshine Protection Act. This bill proposed making daylight saving time permanent.
Some health experts believe clocks should stick to standard time. That’s when we get the extra hour in the fall. It gets darker earlier in the evenings. Standard time aligns with the Sun—and human bodies.
People disagree on whether we should keep standard time or daylight saving. Some people want more morning daylight hours. Others enjoy having more light in the evening.
Either way, changing time twice a year is costly. Losing an hour of sleep can interrupt the body’s natural rhythms and get in the way of productivity. A 2020 study even linked the time change in the spring to greater risk of car accidents.
The Lord created our bodies to function well with consistent sleep habits. When we don’t get enough sleep, we’re reminded of His good design. Although we can decide when to wake and go to bed, our times are in His hands. (Psalm 31:15)
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. — Psalm 127:2
