Daylight Savings Time 2024 Will End On Nov. 3

According to several sleep expert groups, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society, and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, the potential harmful effects of DST necessitate a move to permanent standard time.

Except for Arizona and Hawaii, the only two states that do not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST), the rest of the country’s clocks will be going back one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Nov. 3.

According to Tododisca, on Nov. 3, days will become shorter. The modern concept of Daylight Saving Time is credited to New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who proposed in 1895 that there be a two-hour time shift so he could catch more bugs after his work shift ended. Not long after this, in 1900, a British activist, William Willett, brought a similar idea to the British Parliament. In 1916, after their resources became harder to obtain, Germany instituted the world’s first Daylight Saving Time during World War I. America soon followed suit, beginning the practice two years later.

According to Statista, the practice is currently observed in most of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Peru, Paraguay, New Zealand, the southwestern provinces of Australia, and Egypt, in addition to America.

Quite a few countries or continents have switched to a year-round standard time, including Mexico, South America (excluding the previously mentioned countries observing Daylight Saving Time), Europe (excluding the English countries), Russia, Asia, and India. (except for two provinces in Northeastern India, which have never practiced DST).

According to the Sleep Foundation, although approximately 60% of the world has moved away from DST, there is little momentum in the American political arena to join those countries. The Sunshine Protection Act, a bill introduced in the Senate by Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and in the House by Florida’s Rep. Vern Buchanan, proposed a change to the federal law that prohibits DST from becoming permanent. That bill stalled in 2023 and has not been re-introduced for 2024.

According to several sleep expert groups, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society, and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, the potentially harmful effects of DST necessitate a move to permanent standard time.

Phyllis C. Zee, a sleep medicine specialist and chief of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Neurology at Northwestern Medicine, told Northwestern University that scientific evidence shows DST is associated with harmful effects.

“There has always been a debate in regards to daylight saving time,” Zee told the university. “The science has evolved over the last decade to show the transition between standard time, and DST is associated with adverse health consequences. The big question on the table right now is, should it be permanent standard time or permanent DST?”

Zee, a proponent of switching to permanent standard time, continued, “If we adopt permanent standard time, our internal clocks will more likely be in sync with the rotation of the Earth, seasonal changes, and the sun clock. We know that sleep deprivation is bad for your physical and cognitive health.”

Absent a switch to permanent standard time, Northwestern Medicine recommends the following to help curb some of the effects of DST: following a sleep routine, chasing the morning light, eliminating sleep disturbances, and exercising in the morning, all of which are steps to protect your natural circadian rhythm.