Daylight saving time is Sunday; don’t forget that ‘extra hour’ of sleep

Published 2:02 pm Thursday, November 3, 2022

On Sunday morning, everyone is supposed to get an extra hour of sleep.

Daylight saving time, which has allowed us to enjoy the days of summer, ends Sunday at 2 a.m., when people will set their clocks back one hour — following the old saying, “Spring forward, fall back” — giving them an extra hour of sleep.

The United States first adopted daylight saving time near the end of World War I and then again during World War II. It became law in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act to establish uniform dates for observing daylight saving time.

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Some states and U.S. territories will not change time Sunday. Hawaii and Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation), American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands do not observe daylight saving time.

According to a 2008 Department of Energy report, experts studied the impact of extended daylight saving time on energy consumption in the U.S. and found the extra four weeks of daylight saving time saved about 0.5 percent in total electricity per day.

That added up to electricity savings of 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours — the amount of electricity used by more than 100,000 households for an entire year.

And there is a possibility the U.S. could see the end of daylight savings time in 2023.

According to the Sleep Foundation, a bill called “The Sunshine Protection Act” passed the Senate in March but has not made it to the U.S. House for discussion. The bill would require House passage and President Biden’s signature to become law.

If the bill passes as it’s written, permanent daylight saving time would take effect on Nov. 5, 2023. In other words, people would move their clocks forward again in March and keep them there.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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