News | November 13th, 2023

Springing Forward, Falling Back: The Clockwork Chaos of Daylight Saving Time

By: Ashton Johnson

As the weather changes and the leaves begin to fall, the day slowly begins to go away by 7 p.m. Earlier this month on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 a.m., most of the United States lost an hour of sleep as they turned their clocks back an hour for the end of daylight savings time.  

Twice a year, we change our clocks to spring forward and fall back to mark the end and start of daylight savings time. During the winter, we are in standard time, and the sun sets around 7 p.m., whereas during the warmer months, the sun stays out until about 8:30 p.m.  

 The Effects  

Although daylight saving time is a well-established tradition in many nations, its effects on individuals should not be understated. 

With the sun setting earlier, people find themselves in the house sooner than they would on a spring or summer night.  

Shinya Miller, a third-year biology major student, said that she has noticed the effect that the early nightfall has had on her.  

“The change doesn’t unmotivate me to do stuff, but it makes me want to go home sooner,’Miller said. “I just wrap up my day sooner when I see the sun go down.”

 Photographer and second-year broadcast journalism student, Ashley Bigbee said that she felt the time change the most in the first couple of weeks before the official fallback period.  

”I feel like I don’t have enough time in the day to do something when time is moved up,’ Bigbee said. ‘When time moves up an hour, I start to realize that the weather is really going to start changing soon.”  

At first, sleep schedules get messed up, people feel moody and some people even forget to change all their clocks. The first couple of days may be challenging, but as the days pass, we get used to the feeling of a short day.   

Let’s Make a Change   

Recently, lawmakers were trying to stop the bi-annual time change with the Sunshine Protection Act that would make daylight savings time the new standard time. This bill was introduced to the Senate in March 2022, but it didn’t pass in the House.  

Florida Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced this bill in the Senate in March 2023, but it has yet to move out of the chambers.  

Students like Jeremy Mutelus thinks that it is pointless to change the law.  

“It’s been so long why change it now? It hasn’t affected anybody, it’s a system, and it works.’’ Metelus said.  

Though the law has stayed the same nationally, states can change the time to standard time permanently but not permanent daylight-saving time because of The Uniform Time Act.  

Florida is among 19 states that have said that they will use permanent daylight time if Congress officially changes the rules.  

Time changes are something we are all used to. For almost more than a century, we have been changing our clocks to maximize daylight hours and conserve energy. For those worried about this time change, have no fear; our clocks spring back forward the second weekend in March.