How does daylight saving time work, and who created it? See history behind the time change

Yahoo

10-03-2025

Many would agree that the Monday after daylight saving time begins is among the worst days of the year. Even though time "springs forward" one hour early Sunday morning, it can take a few days — or even a week — for our sleep routines to adjust.
Who can we blame for this practice? Here's how and why daylight saving time was created.
Daylight saving time (DST) claims a variety of other names: daylight savings time, daylight time, summer time (not to be confused with summertime). It refers to the practice of setting clocks forward by one hour during the warmer months of the year and then setting them back one hour in the fall.
One way to remember the pattern: "spring forward, fall back."
The idea dates back to World War I, although some credit Benjamin Franklin for daylight saving time due to a satirical letter he wrote in 1784 stating: "Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing: and if that is not sufficient, let cannon be fired in every street to wake the sluggards effectually."
To maximize resources for the war, Germany and Austria implemented the first daylight saving time in 1916. The U.S. did the same in 1918. An outdated idea, some argue.
The general idea of daylight saving time is to maximize the use of natural daylight, according to the Almanac. This always occurs around the summer months. As the earth moves around the sun and is tilted on its axis, certain parts of the world experience longer days during certain months. For those in the northern hemisphere, like the U.S., these longer days run from March to November, with June to August seeing the longest days.
For those in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia, the seasons are reversed: June through August mark winter months and are, therefore, the shortest of the year.
Since 2007, daylight saving time has begun on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday of November, as directed by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Before that, a 1986 law placed the time changes on the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. Between 1976 and 1986, clocks moved forward on the last Sunday of April. In 1974 and 1975, daylight saving time began in January and February, respectively.
The U.S. first officially recognized daylight saving time in 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act into law.
Arizona and Hawaii are the only U.S. states that have never changed their clocks for daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation hasn't either.
The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also don't observe daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time was enacted by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which also allows states to remain in standard time year-round. However, many states are making efforts to remain in daylight saving time instead — which is currently barred by federal law and would require the approval of Congress.
In recent years, states have considered more than 700 pieces of legislation regarding daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This includes 30 in 2024.
A total of 20 states have passed laws or resolutions to move toward daylight saving time year-round, if Congress were ever to allow it, according to the NCSL. These include:
Alabama
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Minnesota
Mississippi
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
The practice of daylight saving time has made its way back to debates among Texas lawmakers. After failing in the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has proposed a bill that would allow the state to remain in standard time all year as allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This differs from previous attempts, which have generally suggested states remain in daylight saving time — an act barred by federal law.
"The twice-a-year clock change is disruptive and unnecessary," Zaffirini said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "Studies have linked these shifts to increased traffic accidents, negative health effects, and decreased productivity."
In 2022, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, made such a proposal with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023. Although the Senate passed it, the bill stalled in the House.
"It's time to lock the clock and stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth," Rubio said toward the end of last year.
The opposite happened in the 2023 Texas legislative session, in which Zaffirini and Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, proposed the state's permanent shift to daylight saving time. House Bill 1422 earned bipartisan support in the House but stalled in the Senate. Metcalf has filed a similar bill this year.
"Texas doesn't need to wait for Washington," Metcalf said in a news release. "By passing HB 1393, we'll demonstrate leadership and send a strong message that Texans are ready to move forward."
If Zaffirini's Senate Bill 64 is passed and Congress reverses previous rulings against the permanent adoption of daylight saving time, Texas voters could decide which time zone they would prefer to implement year-round.
In recent years, Congress has faced the opportunity to stop changing clocks. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, however the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it.
In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to put an end to daylight saving time and make standard time year-round.
"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation."
— USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who invented daylight saving time? History, meaning of time change