We are now approaching the end of daylight saving time, with clocks set to move back one hour and return to standard time on Nov. 2. This period will last just over four months, with daylight saving time returning on March 8, 2026. Yet there is no reason for states to make any changes next March — or ever again, for that matter.
Why do the clocks change twice annually? During the winter months, with less daylight provided by the sun, standard time keeps more of the sunlight earlier in the day. Of course, there are no free lunches with nature — sunlight gains in the morning hours are lost in the afternoon, with the sun setting one hour earlier.
Where you are positioned relative to the equator determines the number of sunlight hours you experience throughout the year. For example, Anchorage, Alaska, will have 5 hours, 27 minutes of daylight on Dec. 21, 2025, whereas it had 19 hours, 21 minutes of daylight on June 20. Seattle will have 8 hours, 25 minutes of daylight on Dec. 21, whereas it had 16 hours of daylight on June 20. At lower latitudes, the gap between summer and winter is much smaller. Miami will have 10 hours, 31 minutes of daylight on Dec. 21, whereas it had 13 hours, 45 minutes of daylight on June 20.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardizes time across the U.S. Since travel across the nation, whether by highway, train or air, is sensitive to time, the Department of Transportation enforces the act and is responsible for time zone management.
Most people do not like changing their clocks, even though they now mainly tell time on smartphones and electronic devices that automatically update, making time-change management virtually invisible.
Numerous states have passed legislation mandating permanent daylight saving time. Some of these laws are contingent on other states around them also doing the same. Several other states have pending legislation which, if passed, would result in a majority of states using daylight saving time year-round.
Yet if clock changes are the enemy, the Uniform Time Act already permits all states to adopt standard time year-round. The problem is that states prefer daylight saving time. The only states that remain on standard time year-round are Arizona and Hawaii. Without a change in the Uniform Time Act, state laws adopting permanent daylight saving time remains stuck in legislative limbo.
Federal legislation to make daylight saving time permanent has been proposed several times. The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021-2022 never made it to the president’s desk. Most recently, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 has both House and Senate versions, so there is a chance for it to make it through the legislative gauntlet.
What may seem odd is that, although almost every state wants daylight saving time to be permanent, it has been tried before. When implemented during the 1974 oil crisis to save energy, it was very poorly received. The primary criticism was that children were forced to commute to school in the morning (whether walking or driving) amid an extra hour of darkness.
Sleep researchers support permanent standard time, since it more closely aligns with people’s circadian rhythms. Such advice has been mostly ignored, given the legislative preference for daylight saving time. A compromise that would split the difference and create a permanent 30-minute time shift has also been proposed, but it has not gained traction.
Clock changes are therefore likely to continue. The good news is that nearly all states are consistent about changing twice a year. People may gripe about the inconvenience, yet this helps avoid the chaos that would be created for air travelers and others who cross into different states, were each individual state to choose its own time.
Of course, if the Uniform Time Act of 1966 had made daylight saving time the default, this issue likely would not even be discussed today. Given the current situation, to end twice-per-year clock changes and put the topic to bed once and for all, all states need to do is adopt standard time. That would make this Nov. 2 the last time clocks ever need to be changed again.
Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a data scientist, he uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to address problems in public policy.
