It’s almost that time of year again where clocks around the world in many countries have to change. On November 6, 2022, Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins in certain states in the United States. The saying “fall back, spring forward” is often said to help people remember how to set their clocks. “Fall back” means that people gain an hour of sleep when DST ends in the fall and “spring forward” means people lose an hour of sleep when DST begins. When DST is not observed, it is called standard time or winter time. 

According to timeanddate.com, DST is used to save energy and a way to match daylight hours to the times when most people are awake. It is the practice of setting the clocks one hour ahead of standard time to make use of more sunlight in the spring, summer, and fall evenings. When the clocks “fall back,” people basically see it getting dark outside really early, before dinner time. This is the time period that most people don’t like.

Sophomore Bella Mora said “I don’t really like the DST because I’m not able to do a lot of things in the afternoon since it’s so dark.”

DST has been around for over a 100 years and the pros and cons are debated. Some people think that it can be bad for peoples health because a person’s body shouldn’t have to switch its internal alarm clock. Changing the time twice a year may cause people to be more tired and cause car accidents. However, studies have shown “that DST contributes to improved road safety by reducing pedestrian fatalities by 13% during dawn and dusk hours,” according to https://www.timeanddate.com/

Sophomore Jazmin Ruiz said, “I think they should just get rid of Daylight Savings Time completely because it gets so dark earlier in the day.”

Over the years, more countries have made decisions to move away from changing their clocks and adopting a single time. This is also happening in the United States. On March 15, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but for the bill to become law, and allow states to make standard time permanent year-round, it must also be approved by the House of Representatives and signed into law by the President. This has not happened yet. For now, states have to pass their own law in order to make standard time permanent. According to timeanddate.com, this has already happened in 19 states and Nevada is not one of them. So for now, people in Nevada will get one more hour of sleep on November 6th.