Once again, Alabamians and other states in the country will set their clocks forward by one hour this weekend for Daylight Saving Time. Participants lose perhaps a bit of sleep but gain more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer.
Daylight Saving Time starts at 2 a.m. local time on March 10 for most of the country. There are a few places, including Arizona and Hawaii, that do not observe the time change. For those wishing for an end to annual clock shifting, you're not alone.
Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill in 2021 that would put Alabama on Daylight Saving Time year-round. This would make Alabama do away with the twice a year time change, but the U.S. Congress still has to take action to make this all happen. So far, there’s been no bipartisan agreement on the measure. In 2023, Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville backed legislation to permanently put the entire nation under Daylight Saving Time, but the bill received no traction.
But where did daylight saving time come from? The Associated Press reports how we came to move the clock forward in the spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale of that spans over more than a century, one that's driven by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a human desire to bask in the sun for a long as possible.
There's been plenty of debate over the practice, but about 70 countries — about 40% of those across the globe — currently use what Americans call daylight saving time.
Changing the clocks twice a year leads to a lot of grumbling, and pushes to either use standard time all year, or stick to daylight saving time all year often crop up.
During the 1970s energy crisis, the U.S. started doing daylight saving time all year long, and Americans didn't like it. With the sun not rising in the winter in some areas till around 9 a.m. or even later, people were waking up in the dark, going to work in the dark and sending their children to school in the dark.
Read more about the history of daylight saving time here.
Some Alabamians might have trouble with the transition of Daylight Saving Time. Mental health experts say the time change can increase what’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. This type of depression is associated with changes in the seasons.
The effects of Daylight Saving Time are more than just seeing less sunlight. It can also cause changes people's circadian rhythm, or 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock.
The Alabama Department of Mental Health has a list of resources for those who need support.
