Good news for anyone who loves a nap: you're about to get a free hour.
Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend for most of the U.S. According to timeanddate.com, at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, clocks turn back to 1 a.m. and Standard Time begins. Expect earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets, so more light in the morning and less in the evening.
The Easy One
Sleep doctors say this is the switch that's easier on your body. "Typically, moving to Standard Time is actually in sync with our circadian rhythm," Dr. Andrea Matsumura, a sleep medicine physician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told TIME. "Most people have a fairly easy transition into Standard Time."
Psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician Dr. Alex Dimitriu still compares the twice-a-year change to "an hour of jet lag," according to TIME.
How to Prep
There isn't much to do. Matsumura recommends simply sticking to your regular sleep schedule leading up to Nov. 1. TIME reports she also suggests getting some daylight when you wake up and not drinking caffeine too late in the afternoon. Dimitriu recommends moving your body in the morning, such as going for a walk, and not eating too late in the evening.
Save the early bedtimes for March, when the clocks spring forward again and you lose that hour.
The Fight Over the Clock
Not everyone has to switch. Under current federal law, states can stay on Standard Time year-round, and Hawaii and most of Arizona do. What states can't do is stay on Daylight Saving Time permanently.
The Sunshine Protection Act would change that. It would make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide, while still letting states choose permanent Standard Time instead. According to TIME, the bill passed the House with bipartisan support in July but faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO that "there's no clear path forward or consensus" on the bill yet.
Critics, including Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, argue that permanent Daylight Saving Time would mean very late sunrises in parts of the country, with people heading to school and work in the dark. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also opposes the bill, arguing that Standard Time is a better fit for the body's internal clock.
President Donald Trump is backing the bill. At the start of October, according to TIME, he accused Cotton of "holding up" the measure and urged his Truth Social followers to "call Tom on his cellphone."
Until something passes, the routine stays the same: fall back Sunday, spring forward in March.
