Spring your clocks forward this Sunday for Daylight Savings

WASHINGTON (AP) — Standard time comes to an end in most parts of the United States this weekend.

You’ll lose an hour of sleep for one night but gain more daylight in the evening in the months ahead.

The transition to daylight saving time is official at 2 a.m. local time Sunday across much of the country. Then on March 20, winter sunsets and spring is sprung. Until daylight saving time ends in the early hours of Nov. 5, the sun will rise later in the morning than it has during standard time but it will stay light for longer until the evening.

There has been national debate in recent years about the prospect of doing away with the time changing tradition.

Several states have introduced legislation to either maintain themselves in Daylight Savings Time permanently, or in Standard Time permanently. Oklahoma and Arkansas have both introduced bills to remain in Daylight Saving Time permanently, but they are unable to do so unless Congress allows them to.

According to federal law there are only two ways states can abandon these time changes. Either Congress enacts a federal law or states submit an argument to the US Secretary of Transportation “supporting its contention the requested change would serve the convenience of commerce.”

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

A poll conducted in October 2021 found that most people in the United States want to avoid switching between daylight saving and standard time, though there is no consensus behind which should be used all year.

The poll found only 25% of those questioned said they preferred to switch back and forth between standard and daylight saving time. Forty-three percent said they would like to see standard time used during the entire year. Thirty-two percent said they would prefer that daylight saving time be used all year.