Yes, the sun sets earlier. And now the sun is about to set an hour earlier, thanks to Daylight Savings Time.

During daylight saving time, Americans in all states except Hawaii and Arizona are setting their clocks back one hour Sunday November 3 at 2am At that time, the time will automatically reset to 1:00 am Time travel!

The number of hours of sunlight has steadily decreased since the summer solstice (the first official day of summer). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sun will set as early as 4:55 PM on the evening of November 3.

Why do we change the clock twice a year?

When you wake up at 2 a.m. that Sunday, yawn, put on your nightcap, and turn the long hand back an hour, you might be wondering: Why are we still doing this?

This is why.

If you vaguely remember something about a bill to stop the time change and make it permanent, it’s not just your sleep-deprived brain talking.

Changing the clock every two years is a ritual that is quite unpopular. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, many states have introduced legislation to provide year-round daylight saving time.

Here’s an update on the fight to end it.

The fight to make daylight saving time permanent

In March 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., which would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023, meaning Americans would stop turning back their clocks . or twice a year ahead, according to NBC News.

That bill stalled in the House of Representatives and expired.

However, Senator Rubio reintroduced the “Sunshine Protection Act of 2023” in March 2023 to make daylight saving time permanent across the country. It hasn’t had any significant updates since then.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. has also introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to make daylight saving time permanent, according to NBC News.

Senators from several states are all original co-sponsors of Senator Rubio’s legislation, including California Senator Alex Padilla and the late Dianne Feinstein.

The House of Representatives must first approve the bill, then the president must sign it before Americans can say goodbye to the time change.

A study published in Cell Press in 2020 found that jumping ahead every year increases the risk of fatal traffic accidents by 6%. The University of Michigan found a 24% increase in heart attacks that occurred on the Monday just after the time switch, compared to other Mondays.

Benjamin Franklin gets credit for a lot of things, but creating Daylight Savings Time shouldn’t be one of them.

Didn’t Californians vote to eliminate daylight saving time in 2020?

Yes, the Californians did that. So why do we still change our clocks?

San Diego residents may remember voting on California’s Proposition 7 in 2018.

That proposal passed with nearly 60% of the vote, allowing the California Legislature to change daylight saving time, according to Ballotpedia.

Proposition 7 didn’t actually change daylight saving time, it just gave the California State Legislature the ability to actually change it, IF they get a two-thirds majority vote on it (from both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate) and then IF the federal government already allows it.

However, states may set standard time year-round.

That’s exactly what California Republican Senator Roger Niello of Roseville (near Sacramento) set out to do by enacting SB 1413 into law earlier in 2024, according to CalMatters.

The bill passed the California Senate on May 23 and then passed to the Assembly, where it has worked its way through several committees, most recently the Assembly Rules Committee.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, standard time better suits the human biological clock.

Would removing the time change accomplish anything?

Maybe. Maybe not! In the mid-1970s, the US had year-round daylight saving time, but it quickly became unpopular and was reversed.

Regardless of the time change laws, the Earth is still tilted on its axis by an average of 23.5 degrees, according to NOAA. That tilt is responsible for seasonal changes and therefore the amount of sunlight you get where you live. Your location on Earth also affects how much sunlight you get in a year. In general, the closer you are to the equator, the more sunlight you get year-round, NOAA says.

If you REALLY don’t like daylight saving time, it might be worth considering living near the equator, where seasonal changes have little impact on the duration of daylight, according to NOAA.

Can my country opt out of daylight saving time?

States are actually allowed to opt out of daylight saving time and remain on standard time year-round (as Hawaii and Arizona have done). But according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, they are not allowed to set daylight saving time year round.

NBC 7’s Ashley Matthews speaks with a Sharp doctor about methods you can practice to help your body adjust to daylight saving time.

Where does daylight saving time come from?

Near the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act, which put daylight saving time into effect for the first time in the U.S. in March 1918, according to the Library of Congress. The move was intended to save energy costs during the First World War.

About a year later the law was repealed due to the end of the war.

In World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted year-round daylight, calling February 1942 “wartime.” Daylight saving time lasted until September 30, 1945.

When the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966, standard time became mandatory across the country within established time zones. However, states can still opt out.

When the 1973 oil embargo hit, America needed to conserve energy. For example, President Richard Nixon signed DST (the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act) into law throughout the year, hoping to alleviate the national gas crisis.

Congress instituted a trial period from January 1974 to April 1975.

The time change was unpopular. According to NBC News, eight Florida children died in traffic accidents related to the time change.

Permanent daylight saving time was reversed by President Gerald Ford in October 1974.