After a snowy December, we have good news: one of the first signs of spring this year is coming, if not sooner.
Daylight Saving Time 2026 begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, when we “forward” our clocks by changing them one hour forward.
March 8 is the earliest date on the calendar that daylight saving time begins. This is one day earlier than the start of daylight saving time 2025 on March 9 last year.
Daylight Saving Time, also known colloquially as “Daylight Saving Time,” begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. When daylight saving time starts, we always “jump forward” and when daylight saving time ends, we always “jump back.”
Most digital devices, including computers, televisions, and cell phones, automatically update to the new time at 2 a.m. Any other clocks should be manually changed to move their clocks forward one hour before going to bed on Saturday night, March 7, 2026.
For most people, the time change means they will “lose” an hour of sleep, as Sunday, March 8 will technically be a 23-hour day.
Despite some confusion in recent years, Daylight Saving Time has not become permanent and doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. (Making daylight saving time permanent means we change our clocks to year-round time in the spring, and we don’t set them back in the fall.)
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act last year to “lock the clocks” and make daylight saving time permanent across the country. The legislation has stalled repeatedly in Congress, largely due to disagreements over whether to keep standard time or make daylight saving time permanent.
President Donald Trump has previously said he wants to “eliminate daylight saving time,” but acknowledged it would be difficult to change.
“This should be the easiest one, but it’s a 50-50 issue. If something is a 50-50 issue, it’s hard to get excited about it. I think people want more light later, but some people want more light earlier because they don’t want to send their kids to school in the dark,” Trump said in March. “A lot of people like one way, a lot of people like the other, it’s pretty even. Usually I find in situations like this – what else do we have to do?”
A poll last year found that 61% of Americans want to stop changing their clocks twice a year, but some never do.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time, but since daylight saving time is mandated by the Uniform Time Act, any other state wishing to be exempt from the obligation to change its clocks each year must obtain congressional approval. More than a dozen states, including New York and most recently North Dakota, have introduced legislation to make daylight saving time permanent, but there has been no progress at the federal level.
A New York bill introduced in 2023 by New York State Senator Joseph Griffo (R-47) says: “…research shows that the end of daylight saving time will lead to an increase in car crashes, lead to more field work accidents, and disrupt the health of all people affected by daylight saving time as a year-round time in the state. “
According to the Associated Press, it’s easier for most people to add an hour to their schedule than to lose an hour, although each person’s body clock still needs to adjust. Studies have found that heart disease and stroke rates tend to increase after daylight saving time begins in March, while sleep difficulties and depression, including seasonal affective disorder, occur more frequently during the shorter days of fall and winter.
Daylight saving time was originally established during World War I to save fuel for the military industry. The law was repealed after World War I, but was re-enacted by Congress during World War II due to energy consumption concerns, and became U.S. law in 1966 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, establishing uniform start and end times within standard time zones. The policy, overseen by the Department of Transportation, aims to save energy, reduce traffic fatalities and reduce crime.
Daylight saving time was retained after World War II because Americans were thought to reduce energy consumption by extending summer daylight into the evenings. However, a 2008 Department of Energy study found that daylight saving time reduced annual energy use by just 0.03%, while another study from the University of California, Santa Barbara found that daylight saving time may even increase energy use.
The New York State Firefighters Association recommends that people use Daylight Savings Time as a reminder to replace the batteries in their smoke detectors when they switch. The organization says 60 percent of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms.
Read the original article at syracuse.com.
