What to know about daylight saving time before clocks fall back

With daylight saving time for 2023 coming to an end Sunday, the majority of people in the U.S. will “fall back” one hour as standard time resumes. For most, this means an extra hour of rest coupled with less daylight in the evening, a trade-off that has long fuelled the debate as to whether daylight saving time should be made permanent. As you prepare to set your clock back one hour before going to bed Saturday night, here’s what you need to know about the end of daylight saving time:

When does daylight saving time (DST) end?

DST ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, Nov. 5, with Americans in most states having to turn their clocks back an hour. Standard time will remain in effect until the second Sunday of March, when daylight saving time starts again. 

Which states will be affected by the end of daylight saving time?

While most of the United States observes daylight saving time, Hawaii and most of Arizona are exceptions to this. The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific also follow permanent standard time, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

Will daylight saving time remain permanent?

Efforts to make daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time have been largely unsuccessful. Although the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, a bipartisan bill that would have put an end to the biannual changing of clocks, the proposal ultimately stalled in the House and has since made little progress. 

The bill, however, was reintroduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) this March. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), in the past five years, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions calling for year-round daylight saving time should Congress allow such a change. 

What impact does the end of daylight saving have on mental and physical health?

From adjusting to a new sleep schedule and commuting home in the dark to experiencing changes in mood, experts and proponents of adopting DST permanently argue changing time twice per year can have serious effects on mental and physical well-being.

According to a poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association in September, 1 in 5 adults said the time change has affected their mental health in a negative way.

Meanwhile, some have expressed concerns over safety as the days become shorter.

According to reports from ABCNews, Molly Hart, a spokeswoman for AAA's Auto Club Group, warned there may be an increase in crashes on the road following the time change.

“With daylight saving coming to an end, what people really need to be focused on is their driving now in the afternoon when it’s darker earlier,” and when they may be feeling drowsy, she said.