History of daylight saving time in the US

While most of the country observes daylight saving time, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona do not, with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does.

The tradition of changing the clock was formally introduced in the United States in 1918 and introduced as ‘Fast Time’.

However, its use ended less than a year later, although cities such as Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh continued to use it.

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In 1942, the concept was reintroduced under President Franklin D. Roosevelt under the term “War Time,” which lasted until 1945.

It wasn’t until the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was passed that America would establish a nationwide daylight saving time schedule.

Daylight saving time rules changed in 2007 for about 20 years after the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed – “extending daylight saving time in the interest of reducing energy consumption,” according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The rules extended daylight saving time by about a month, which is now in effect for 238 days, or about 65% of the year.

How popular is changing the clock twice a year?

In a 2023 YouGov survey of 1,000 Americans, 62% of participants said they no longer want to change their clocks twice a year.

Half of participants said they preferred daylight saving time year-round, while 31% preferred standard time.

Changing the clocks is quite unpopular.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, many states are trying to stop the clocks from changing.

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Last year, three bills were introduced to establish permanent standard time in Massachusetts, but none passed.

Earlier this year, Massachusetts lawmaker Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., praised their plan, the Sunshine Protection Actwhich would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

The bill was approved by the Senate last year, but is now stuck in committee, the Washington Post reported.

“The outdated biannual ritual of switching times is not just an inconvenience – it also has very real consequences for our economy, our energy use and our health,” Markey said in a statement.

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Ending the annual clock change has popular support, with almost two-thirds of 2021 Economist/YouGov respondents (63%) saying they are in favor of abolishing daylight saving time.

Meanwhile, sleep experts say that Americans with chronic sleep deprivation could use an extra shuteye.

“There’s a disconnect when we have to get up early for work or school and it’s still dark outside and we want to sleep,” Beth Malow, professor of neurology and pediatrics and director of the sleep department at Vanderbilt University, told The Hill after the Senate vote in 2022.

The early light of that dawn “actually aligns us so that our body clocks are in sync with what’s happening in our environment,” Malow told the Hill.