Last Fall We’ll ‘Fall Back’ ?

Daylight saving time. You either love it or hate it, with very little middle ground.

However, Nov. 6, when the time changes, may be the sunset on that practice of going to saving time in the spring and going back to standard time in the fall.

The idea was first floated during WWI to save coal. It became the norm in the 1960s by way of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. and some states, notably Hawaii and Arizona, do not change time at all. Others have split time zones and only change one portion of the state. Many businesses, especially golf courses, like the longer days and stay open later hours to take advantage of them. It increases the sales of Halloween candy because kids can trick or treat in daylight hours safely. Some farmers and ranchers, although appreciative of longer seeming days, grouse because repair shops and supply houses don’t always keep those longer hours, which means a breakdown in the field could cause wasted hours of daylight.

Opponents have said the change results in more auto accidents, cardiac incidents, seasonal affective disorder and sleep disorders. Researchers believe that a permanent change to DST could result in disruption of natural human circadian rhythms, which influence everything from hormones to blood pressure.

In March, the U.S. Senate voted to make the change to daylight saving time permanent as of March 2023. The nation’s timepieces would spring ahead and stay there. However, the House of Representatives has yet to pass the bill and send it on to the president.