When does Daylight Saving Time end?

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 3. That’s when we “fall back” by setting our clocks back one hour on Saturday night. Your cell phone should automatically switch to and from Daylight Saving Time, as it’s built into your operating system. Other clocks, however, must be changed manually. The end of Daylight Saving Time moves both sunrise and sunset one hour earlier. On the East Coast, this means sunrise will be closer to 6:30 a.m., while sunset will be moved back to around 4:30 p.m. (around 4:15 p.m. the afternoon after Thanksgiving).

The good news? Everyone gets an extra hour of sleep on Sunday.

Do all states observe Daylight Savings Time?

Daylight Saving Time began in the United States in 1918, and today every state observes the tradition except Hawaii and Arizona — with the exception of the Navajo Nation. Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — all U.S. territories — also do not observe the tradition.

The debate over ending the biennial DST practice continues. A bill to implement year-round daylight saving time was stalled in Congress for months before officially dying in January 2023, though efforts are still underway to revive the legislation.

Can the time difference affect your mood?

When Daylight Savings Time ends and daylight hours get shorter, it’s inevitable that you’ll experience mood swings, experts say. The condensed days combined with colder temperatures can affect people in a myriad of ways, including changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating and a loss of interest in activities they normally enjoy. About 5 percent of Americans also suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Here’s why: Reduced sunlight exposure lowers our active levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that creates long-lasting feelings of happiness or well-being, making us feel sadder. At the same time, the brain produces more melatonin, a chemical that helps us sleep when it’s dark, which explains why we often feel sleepier in months with fewer hours of daylight. Time changes like Daylight Savings Time can also affect our circadian rhythms — internal clocks that regulate sleep. Each person’s circadian rhythm is intricately tied to their mood, meaning that as sleep schedules change, so can their moods.

What about September and October?

Sunrises will move closer to 6:45am as September draws to a close. Then, during the month of October, the sun will rise after 7:15am.

In mid-September the sun sets before 7pm and by 6:30pm by the time we get to October. In some areas the sun can set as early as 5:40pm in late October.

When does Daylight Saving Time start again?

Daylight saving time will return on March 9, 2025.

This report uses material from an earlier Globe article.

Marianne Mizera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @MareMizera.