The warm November temperatures may not seem autumnal, but the orange, red and rust-colored leaves signal that it is time to fall back.
Daylight saving time ends this Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m. So before you turn in Saturday night, set your analog clocks back an hour, or risk thinking you’re late for brunch because your microwave clock is an hour ahead.
Technically, Sunday will be 25 hours long, as the calendar returns to U.S. standard time. On the East Coast, it will be Eastern Standard Time, which will last until March 12.
The concept behind changing the clocks is to take advantage of the sun’s natural light. The sun will rise an hour earlier, and it will gradually get darker earlier in the evening.
Shifting the clocks does affect your circadian rhythms and can impact sleep; and the change brings an increased threat of drowsy driving on the roads.
“Any time you just artificially change the time that it is, you run the risk of there being this mismatch between the world outside and our internal clock, and that can just make sleep difficult,” Dzierzewski said.
Recently, there’s been a push in Congress to make daylight saving time permanent. The Sunshine Protection Act passed in the Senate in March would end the twice-a-year switch, but the House has not acted on the measure, The Associated Press said.
Another benefit to permanent daylight saving time? Fewer deer-vehicle accidents. New research University of Washington shows that year-round daylight saving time would “likely prevent an estimated 36,550 deer deaths, 33 human deaths, 2,054 human injuries, and $1.19 billion in costs each year,” CBS News reported.
