Be sure to turn your clocks ahead one hour this weekend as Daylight Savings Time (DST) will begin at 2 am on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Experts say, to decrease disruption to your sleep it is best to turn your clocks ahead early in the evening, going to bed when the clock says its time. The disruption of losing an hour of sleep can have negative consequences. . . despite the positives of having an extra hour of daylight in the evenings.
DST was first considered by Benjamin Franklin back in 1784 but wasn't seriously considered until a decade later. It would take a World War to bring it to fruition. Germany adopted it during WWI to have added daylight during working hours. Several other countries followed suit, including the US in 1918 (but it didn't last long).
In WWII it returned as War Time and was used throughout the war. This time, it continued to be observed following the war, but there was no standard. Different states observed it at different times, bringing confusion.
In 1966, DST became the national standard as federal law standardized the length of times across the country. In the 1970's the length DST was observed was lengthened as an energy saving measure. DST continues to be observed from the second Sunday in March through the first Sunday in November.
Despite efforts to standardize times, there are several states who never enacted the practice of DST including Arizona and Hawaii. Indiana only recently joined the DST practice, in 2006.
Attempts to have one standard time, or to keep daylight savings time year-round have been made over the years both nationally and within individual states. In Washington, Senator Mark Schoesler tried to put forth legislation to keep DST year-round. The latest bill, presented by US Senator Marco Rubio, in 2022, passed the senate but did not make it into the house. Rubio has reintroduced the bill this year and hopes it will make it to fruition this go around. If the current bills pass and receive President Biden's signature, permanent daylight-saving time would take effect on Nov. 5, 2023. If not, we will be falling back on Nov. 5, 2023.
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