It’s That Time Again-We Get to Control Time
By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
October 30, 2025
GULF SHORES, Ala. When I was a little kid, I associated turning the clocks back with cooler weather, Thanksgiving and of course Christmas. And if cold air from the north made it to where I lived in Tennessee, I might even get to make a snowman or see a white Christmas.
From my perspective at that time, that’s what the time change was all about.
And on the first Sunday of November, at 2 a.m., we’ll turn them back once more.
Now as an adult, I might get an extra hour of sleep, but probably not. I’ll probably be one of those people who’ll work an extra hour.
On the second Sunday of March, at 2 a.m., clocks in most of the United States and many other countries move forward one hour and stay there for nearly eight months in what is called Daylight Saving Time.
The current March to November system that the US follows began in 2007, but the concept of “saving daylight” is much older. Daylight Saving Time has its roots in train schedules, but it was put into practice in Europe and the United States to save fuel and power during World War I, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The US kept Daylight Saving Time permanent during most of World War II. The idea was put in place to conserve fuel and keep things standard. As the war came to a close in 1945, Gallup asked respondents how we should tell time. Only 17% wanted to keep what was then called “war time” all year.
During the energy crisis of the 1970s, we tried permanent Daylight-Saving Time again in the winter of 1973-1974. The idea again was to conserve fuel. It was a popular move at the time when President Richard Nixon signed the law in January 1974. But by the end of the month, Florida’s governor had called for the law’s repeal after eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark. Schools across the country delayed start times until the sun came up.
Once again, during the past few years, there’s been much talk about putting our country under a new time zone. One that would make the entire country be always on the same time, never again turning our clocks forwards or backwards.
Many love the idea, others love our current system.
In the US, states are not required by law to “fall back” or “spring forward.” Hawaii, most of Arizona and some territories in the Pacific and Caribbean do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
The twice-yearly switcheroo is irritating enough to lawmakers of all political stripes that federal lawmakers have tried to make Daylight Saving Time permanent over the past few years. New versions of the bill were introduced in the House and Senate this year.
Some people, already set in their ways, are happy with how we pretend to control time twice a year. They don’t want any changes. Still others have no opinion and could care less. I suppose I’m one of those. I don’t see any benefits of changing keeping the old or trying the new.
Studies over the past 25 years have shown the one-hour change disrupts body rhythms tuned to Earth’s rotation, adding fuel to the debate over whether having Daylight Saving Time in any form is a good idea.
One study showed more car accidents when people lose an extra hour of sleep. There are also studies that show robberies decline when there is an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day. We also know that people suffer more heart attacks at the start of Daylight-Saving Time. But what about our mental health? People seem to be happier when there is an extra hour of daylight.
The issue is that for every argument there is a counterargument. Studies, opinions, or likes and dislikes, all have their own merits.
So far, studies and research have all found reasonable reasons for doing away with changing the clocks in the fall and keeping time all on one schedule.
The bottom line: It’s not clear whether having that extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day versus the beginning is helpful. It just depends on who you are and what you want.
Whether you’re for or against messing with the time zones, it doesn’t look like Daylight Saving Time in the US is going away anytime soon.
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