It’s time to rewind your clocks. Here’s how to make it an easier transition
Nov 6, 2021, 4:46 PM
Make sure to turn back your clocks an hour this weekend as daylight saving comes to an end. (Lightfield Studios/Adobe Stock)
(Lightfield Studios/Adobe Stock)
(CNN) — Enjoy your extra hour of sleep this weekend, but don’t forget to turn back your clocks when you rise and shine Sunday morning.
Daylight Saving Time is ending this Sunday, November 7, at 2 a.m.
Most digital clocks and electronics automatically change the time, but some clocks may need to be manually rewound.
Not all states practice Daylight Saving Time, though. Residents of Hawaii and most of Arizona, along with the US territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Guam, don’t touch their clocks.
Most people welcome an extra hour of shut-eye, but the change can be problematic for young children, said Michelle Drerup, director of behavioral sleep medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Ohio.
It can be tempting to stay up later because you have an extra hour, but Drerup advised against it.
“Since our society is generally sleep deprived as a whole, it is recommended for most people to keep their bedtime consistent and to sleep until (their) typical wake up time if possible and enjoy the additional hour of sleep,” she said via email.
If you begin to feel sleepy during the day, Drerup suggested a 15- to 20-minute nap in the early afternoon to limit the sleep disruption.
Creating a routine can also keep your brain on track throughout the day, such as making your bed or eating meals at the same time, she added.
When you wake up on Sunday, immediately change your clocks if they don’t change automatically so your brain can visualize the time change and adjust faster, said clinical psychologist Michael Breus, a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
It’s also important to expose yourself to sunlight when you wake up to help reset your body clock, he said.
Why we ‘fall back’
Benjamin Franklin first proposed the concept of daylight saving in 1784, but it wasn’t implemented until World War I as a temporary measure to save energy.
Daylight saving was used on and off in the United States from the 1920s until the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966. This act established daylight saving from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.
In 1987, Daylight Saving Time began starting on the first weekend in April and ending on the last Sunday in October.
In 2007, the time was expanded once again to start the second Sunday in March and finish the first Sunday in November, which is the current schedule.
About 70 countries practice Daylight Saving Time.
