When Does Daylight Savings Time End in 2022?
Here are all the details you need to know on when to change your clocks.
Daylight savings time is one of the most polarizing ideas ever. Whether you're a fan of springing ahead or falling back, the changes to your waking and sleep schedules take some serious adjusting. Whether you love the extra sunlight or shun it in favor of more time in bed, get the skinny on daylight savings time, including why it exists, when it starts and ends, what's going on with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, why some people the time change—and why others claim it's actually pretty awful.
When did daylight savings time 2022 start?
Daylight savings time started back on Sunday, March 13, 2022, at 2 a.m. local time. This is when we experienced a "leap forward."
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When does daylight savings time 2022 end?
It will end at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Will the clocks change in November 2022?
Yep! We will fall back on Nov. 6.
What is the origin of daylight savings time?
Contrary to popular belief, daylight savings time didn't actually originate as a service to farmers—it was actually a method used first in Germany and Britain in World War I to save fuel, and farmers argued it actually made their lives more difficult because they had less time to bring their crops and products to markets. Later proponents said that daylight savings made Americans spend more money because they were more likely to go shopping after work if it was still light outside.
“Golf ball sales skyrocketed during daylight saving time,” Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, told Time. “Baseball is a huge early supporter, too, because there’s no artificial illumination of parks, so to get school kids and workers to ball games with the extended daylight, they have a later start time.”
However, other industries, like movie theaters, said it hurt their bottom lines because people are less likely to go into a dark theater when it's bright outside.
Eventually, it became a problem when some cities observed daylight savings time while others didn't. As a result, in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, declaring six months with daylight savings time and six months without, and individual states could opt in or out depending on their constituents' needs to avoid confusion between municipalities.
Seven years later, President Richard Nixon called for permanent daylight savings time to cope with the fuel embargo, but it didn't last long, and it went back to lasting six months per year. In 1986, daylight savings time was upped to seven months, and in 2005 to eight.
All that said, it's debatable whether or not daylight savings time actually saves energy or fuel, with some locations actually reporting that it increased energy use.
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Do you get more sleep on Daylight Savings Day?
Depending on your individual sleep schedule, you may get an hour more of sleep on Daylight Savings Day this November when daylight savings time ends because clocks will "turn back" overnight. Back in March, however, most people lost an hour of sleep.
Why do we still have daylight savings time?
Why do we still have daylight savings time? According to the United States Department of Transportation, daylight savings time saves energy because people use fewer lights in their homes and spend more time outdoors. It also has a correlation with fewer traffic accidents and injuries, as more people are commuting during daylight, as well as a reduced crime rate because of increased daylight.
What states don't observe daylight savings time? What states are getting rid of daylight savings time?
Hawaii does not observe daylight savings time, and neither does most (but not all) of Arizona. Other United States territories, including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, also don't observe daylight savings time.
In 2018, California and Florida opted to switch to daylight savings time permanently, but legally, Congress has to authorize such a move. So far, that hasn't happened.
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What are the negative effects of daylight savings time? Why should we get rid of daylight savings time?
Daylight savings time can mess with your body's circadian rhythms, which can have other detrimental effects on your physical and mental health.
"Jet lag happens because circadian rhythms adapt sluggishly to time zone changes. When you travel across time zones, the body’s circadian clock adjusts in a day or two to the new cycle of local light-and-dark. But in the case of daylight saving time (DST), clock time changes while the dark-light cycle doesn’t," Richard E. Cytowic, MD, MFA, professor of neurology at George Washington University, explained to Psychology Today. "The result is a discrepancy between your biological clock and the social clock, with a number of untoward consequences."
Those consequences can be scary: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that more than half of adults felt "drained" and "inefficient" following the switch to daylight savings time, and six studies found a 5% to 15% increased risk of heart attack in the days immediately following the switch to daylight savings, with a nearly 25% increase alone on the first day of the time change. There are also upticks in traffic accidents, emergency room visits, suicide attempts and patients suffering from depression.
What would happen if we get rid of daylight saving time?
If we got rid of daylight saving time, people would have a reduced chance of cardiac episodes, reduced risk of strokes, economic boosts (companies wouldn't have to adjust their schedules) and reduced risk of auto accidents. However, people who practice certain religions may have difficulty with the change if they need to attend prayer services at sunrise and still get to work by certain early morning hours.
Why do people want permanent daylight savings time?
Former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is among the proponents of making daylight savings time permanent. In an opinion piece for Time, Hatch argued that the coronavirus pandemic brought enough difficulties that need not be exacerbated by the time change, including mental health and financial struggles.
"Each year, we see higher rates of depression associated with less exposure to sunlight; higher energy consumption across the country; higher traffic fatalities with more Americans driving in the dark; higher incidence of crime; and a steep decline in retail sales with fewer consumers willing to shop at night," he wrote. "Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we observe a time change that ultimately hurts small businesses and makes life more difficult for individuals struggling with anxiety and depression? Our economy is on the ropes, and the number of Americans reporting mental illness has reached record levels. So why would we change our clocks this November knowing it will only make the situation worse?"
When will daylight savings time become permanent thanks to the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021?
There's some understandable confusion about daylight savings time these days, especially after there had been so much talk this year about the Sunshine Protection Act passing (unanimously!) in the Senate back in March.
However, the bill is waiting on a vote in the House of Representatives in order to be officially signed into law. As of right now, there's no scheduled date set for a vote on this bill in the House.
If the bill does pass, then daylight savings time would become permanent and it would be effective on Nov. 5, 2023. This means that when the clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 12, 2023, the clocks would remain at that time, without changing again in November.
How can I get a healthy amount of sleep with daylight savings time?
There are steps you can take to keep daylight savings time from disrupting your sleep patterns and circadian rhythms. Experts recommend adjusting your sleep schedule in 15-minute increments in the days leading up to daylight savings time changes, as well as exercising and enjoying sunlight the morning daylight savings time begins to jolt your internal clock to the current time. It's also advised to avoid caffeine, alcohol and naps, as well as to keep electronics and light out of your bedroom for at least an hour before you go to sleep.
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