It is almost time to change the clock to spring the time forward for the warmer months.
Later sunsets are to come as most states will transition from standard time to daylight savings on March 13 at 2 a.m. Hawaii and most of Arizona will remain at their current time.
The practice of adjusting the time for daylight saving began with Germany in the early 1900s to save energy during World War I, according to historians. Weeks later, the United Kingdom followed and introduced “summertime”.
According to historians, American farmers did not lobby for daylight savings, and the agricultural industry at the time was deeply opposed to the time switch when it was first introduced on March 31, 1918.
The industry fought back with an appeal of national daylight saving time in 1919, which passed after Congress voted to override President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine called for the abolition of daylight saving time in 2010, citing effects on the body’s natural clock that may cause public health issues such as increased traffic accidents and strokes.
“Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle,” said lead author Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, a pulmonology, sleep medicine and critical care specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and vice chair of the AASM Public Safety Committee. “Daylight saving time results in more darkness in the morning and more light in the evening, disrupting the body’s natural rhythm.”
California is among the dozen other states that moved to enact a year-round daylight saving time through measures that were approved through legislation or ballot measures. Under the Uniform Time Act, which was approved in 1966, states cannot move daylight savings time.
On Nov.6, most states in the United States will revert to standard time at 2 a.m.
