Daylight saving time 2024 ends tomorrow. That’s when time turns back

With the arrival of fall and Halloween 2024, it’s time to turn back the clock. Get ready for darker days and colder mornings—the annual end of Daylight Saving Time has arrived.

Standard time returns in the fall when clocks are turned back an hour, giving rise to the funny seasonal motto “step back.” It can be confusing as people across much of the country change clocks and try to adjust to new schedules. Here’s what you need to know about the fall time changes.

When does daylight saving time end?

In the United States, daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday in November at 2 a.m. local time. In 2024, this will happen tomorrow, November 3rd. Place a reminder in your calendar to switch any clocks that don’t switch automatically. Many people find it helpful to change their clocks right before bed rather than the next morning.

The situation is slightly different around the world: in the UK, summer time ended last weekend, 27 October. And in the Down Under, where it is now spring, daylight saving time began a whole month ago, when the clocks were set forward an hour. October 6 across most of Australia.

Here’s a handy list of other countries that observe Daylight Saving Time, along with their end and start dates in 2024.

When will daylight saving time return?

Are you already tired of the early darkness? The longest nights reach their peak on December 21, the winter solstice. After that, it will gradually become lighter each day until Daylight Saving Time finally returns to the United States on March 9, 2025.

Daylight saving time returns to the UK on 30 March and ends in areas of Australia where it occurs on 6 April.

Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time

Time standardization in the United States has a long and complex history. The growth of railroads in America prompted the creation of time zones in 1883. Daylight saving time was officially introduced in 1918, but it fell in and out of popularity and was applied inconsistently across the country until the passage of the Uniform Time Act in 1966. Through transportation improvements, this law established standard time in existing time zones and established a permanent system of uniform daylight saving time, including dates and times for biannual transitions,” the Bureau of Transportation Statistics stated in Time Zone History.

See also: Does Daylight Saving Time Help Pay Your Energy Bills?

Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii use standard time year-round. The rest of the country has to deal with the consequences of the biannual clock changes. It’s not just your sleep schedule that can suffer. Daylight saving time affects your health in different ways.

Specific dates for Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time may change each year. Daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The National Institute of Standards and Technology crunches the numbers and reports that daylight saving time is in effect for 238 days, or about 65% of the year. This may make daylight saving time seem more standard than standard time, but we are stuck with historical terminology.

Will we ever be able to get rid of time changes?

Time changes are controversial. Many people find it difficult to make the transition, especially when Daylight Saving Time disappears in the spring. Here are some ways to regain rest after losing an hour of sleep. Proponents of daylight saving time say it saves energy during warmer months and provides longer daylight hours suitable for outdoor activities. However, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has called for standard time to be established year-round to better align with human circadian biology.

Politicians have made efforts to end time changes at the national level, but nothing has yet become law, and there is debate about whether Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time is better. The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, in 2022, but that’s about it. “This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid,” Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in 2023. Rubio continues to push for legislation, but he shows no signs of moving forward in 2024.

Working with autumn time changes

Changing your “retreat” time is generally considered a good thing because it feels like you’re getting an extra hour of sleep. This only works if you can ignore your regular wake-up time and sleep in on Sunday.

Check out these tips to combat fatigue after a time change. Developing good sleep habits doesn’t have to be limited to temporary changes. Work on getting good sleep year-round, and those pesky clock switches won’t weigh on you as much. Unless Congress gets involved, we will be stuck moving forward and falling back for the foreseeable future.