California hasn’t kicked daylight saving time. Why does it exist and when does it end?

The fall season brings a shift to everyday life, from the color of the leaves and weather to time.

On Nov. 6, Daylight Saving Time will end, pushing time back by one hour at 2 a.m. and reeling in darker skies earlier.

Why does daylight saving time exist?

The general idea behind the time change is to increase the amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere.

By falling back an hour in November and springing forward an hour in March, according to National Geographic, people can have one extra hour of sunlight.

The purpose of saving daylight, contrary to what many may believe, wasn’t created so farmers can have more time in the field. The first countries to implement the practice were Germany and Austria in 1916, according to WebExhibits, an online museum by Idea, an education non-profit, to save fuel for electricity. On April 30, 1916, the clock would increase by one hour until October.

The United States adopted the plan in 1918 to save daylight and establish standard time, but the law was repealed by the next year after World War I. The practice became optional for local governments and states.

Time change was inconsistent in the country, with former presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon enacting laws in their respective terms to dictate how clocks should be set.

By 1966, the Uniform Time Act was established and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, creating daylight saving time. And after a few amendments to save energy, daylight saving time would begin on the second Sunday of March and end on the first Sunday of November.

Not one for all

Daylight saving time isn’t practiced by all states.

Under Uniform Time Act, states have the ability to opt out and stay in standard time all year.

In 2018, California overwhelmingly voted to establish permanent, year-round standard time or permanent, year-round daylight saving. Proposition 7, or the Legislative Power to Change Daylight Saving Time Measure, rallied in 59% of yes votes. But the state legislature is slow on getting the time change to go through the federal government.

On the national level, the Sunshine Act, introduced by Senator Marco Rubio, proposes for permanent daylight saving throughout the country. It hasn’t passed the House of Representatives yet.

Currently, only Hawaii and most of Arizona observe permanent standard time.

How does daylight saving time ending affect us?

Moving the hour hand on your clock might seem simple, but such a practice can have a toll on your body.

According to the Sleep Foundation, daylight saving time ending results in mood disturbance and a greater risk of traffic accidents.

However, the foundation stated that major sleep disruptions are less common when time changes in November because people typically gain an extra hour of sleep. But some may experience difficulty adjusting to a new time waking up.

This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "California hasn’t kicked daylight saving time. Why does it exist and when does it end?."