As the Sun returns and the winter blues drift away, it is almost time to adjust the clocks in the US. Daylight Saving Time (DST), the practice of adjusting your clocks twice a year, has a long history, complete with controversies, diplomacy, and some peculiarities depending on where you live.
Despite its quirks, DST ultimately means longer evenings to enjoy the Sun. So, with the date fast approaching, we’ve gathered all the information you need to know, including when to change your clocks, why it happens, and why some want to get rid of DST altogether.
When do the clocks change in March 2025?
For those in the US, the time will change on Sunday 9 March. The clocks will change at 2 am local time, moving forward by one hour.
This marks the start of DST, but it will look different depending on where you live. Here’s how that might look in major cities:
- Los Angeles and other cities on the West coast – like Seattle and San Francisco – will move from Pacific Standard Time to Pacific Daylight Time. The sunrise will move forward by an hour, changing from 6:15 am to 7:15 am. The sunset will go from roughly 5:54 pm to 6:54 pm.
- Chicago will see a move from Central Standard Time to Central Daylight Time. The sunrise will change from 6:17 am to 7:17 am. The sunset will go from 5:47 pm to 6:47 pm.
- New York and Washington DC will switch from Eastern Standard Time to Eastern Daylight Time. This will see the sunrise change from 6:22 am to 7:22 am and the sunset move from 5:53 pm to 6:53 pm.
How does Daylight Saving Time work?
The concept of Daylight Saving Time is fairly simple. Every year, we fiddle with the clocks to either add or remove an hour of the day. This happens twice a year, moving us back and forth.
These two time changes are known as Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time. Daylight Saving Time begins in March, moving us forward an hour and then comes to an end in November, moving us back an hour.
On the surface of things, this seems pretty strange, but there is a reason for it all. DST is designed to make better use of daylight and save energy. By changing the time, we get more daylight in the evening, with more time to enjoy the sun and less demand on electricity and power at home.
What's the history of Daylight Saving Time?
The history of daylight saving time goes back… very far back. It is often believed that the concept originated in 1784 from Benjamin Franklin. Luckily, this isn't actually true, so we can skip quite far ahead to 1907.
A man named William Willett published a leaflet titled The Waste of Daylight. Willett was a keen golfer and horse rider who felt he wasn’t getting the full usage of the daylight hours. Instead of accepting this fate, he proposed completely changing how we view time.
His proposal was that we should move the clocks forward by 80 minutes, using four separate increments of 20 minutes each Sunday at 2am. Somehow, this overly complicated system was accepted and became the start of Daylight Saving Time.
We have since improved this system, changing it to a simplified hour forward and back. In the States, the concept of Daylight Saving Time took time to pick up traction. It was adopted and dropped repeatedly, eventually becoming a standardised practice in 1966.
Why do some people want to get rid of Daylight Saving Time?
Unsurprisingly, repeatedly changing the clocks each year has annoyed many people. But other than its slight inconvenience, why do people want to abolish DST?
Scientists note that changing the clocks can be quite disruptive to the body. Research found that in the weeks following the 2019 spring clock change, there was a significant increase in the risk of heart attacks.
It is also believed that there is a potential harm to the economy. In the United States, a researcher estimated the spring time change actually costs the country $275 million (£225m) every year due to a productivity dip when the clocks change.
Potentially, the most important reason is the effect it has on pets. The pet charity PDSA recommends a slow adjustment to new routines with your pet. If you don’t, they might think you’ve forgotten to feed them when their meal times change.
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