November is approaching, and with it approaches a familiar timekeeping tradition.
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, clocks will “fall back” an hour, switching the country from daylight saving time to standard time and giving millions of Americans an extra hour of sleep.
Seasonally shifting the time has been largely standardized across the U.S. for decades; every state does so except Hawaii and Arizona (barring the territory of the Navajo Nation), who both stick to standard time.
Federal law does not currently allow states to opt into year-round daylight savings time, though many states have expressed a desire to do so.
Daylight saving time will begin again on Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks “spring forward” one hour.
Phones and most digital timekeeping devices will switch automatically, though older and more analog clocks will have to be manually reset.
Why does the U.S. have daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time was first proposed in 1895 by New Zealand entomologist George Hudson as a way for people to enjoy more hours of sunshine during the summer. Many European countries adopted it during the first World War as a way to save fuel, and the U.S. followed suit in 1918.
While the U.S ditched daylight saving time nationally in 1919 after the end of the war, some states kept it around and grew fond of the system. It was re-introduced nationally decades later, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act of 1966 into law.
The nation’s current system, minor tweaks to start and end dates notwithstanding, originates from this law.
Many Americans want permanent daylight saving time
Nowadays, daylight saving time is a frequent target of complaints for a large number of Americans who dislike having to change their clocks and circadian rhythms twice a year.
A 2025 AP-NORC poll found that only 12% of Americans favor the current daylight saving system. 40% were ambivalent, and 47% outright opposed it.
When asked what system they would like to see instead, 56% said they preferred permanent daylight saving time, which would extend daylight hours in the evening at the expense of a darker morning. 42% preferred permanent standard time, meaning more light in the morning and a later sunset.
Could the U.S. end its current daylight saving time system?
America’s biannual changing of clocks has gained renewed attention with The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, a bill which would end the twice-yearly switching by permanently setting the nation’s clocks to daylight saving time. It passed the House of Representatives in July of last year, but has since stalled in the Senate.
The Senate’s opposition is not without historical precedent; a law enacting permanent daylight saving time was passed through Congress and signed by President Richard Nixon in January 1974 in an attempt to save energy during an ongoing oil crisis.
The change was popular at first, but public support plummeted through the winter; some parts of the country didn’t see sunrise until 9:00 a.m. The law was repealed later that year.
The current bill has been the subject of conflict between President Donald Trump, who supports it, and the group of Senate Republicans who oppose it, notably Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Earlier this month, Trump posted Cotton’s personal phone number online, encouraging his supporters to dial the senator and tell him to “GET IT DONE,” in reference to the bill.
With the Senate in recess and the midterm election only days away, it seems unlikely that the bill will pass any time soon. Unpassed legislation must be reintroduced to the Senate after each election.
