Daylight saving time ends soon. When do we turn the clocks back in Kansas?

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It’s time to get an extra hour of sleep.

The end of daylight saving time is this weekend in the Midwest, which means clocks will “fall back” one hour. Most of the U.S. begins daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March ahead of spring and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November.

This year, daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 a.m. Instead of seeing 2 a.m. on your smart devices, the time will fall back to 1 a.m.

While people will gain an hour of sleep, it comes at the cost of losing an hour of sunlight.

Here’s what else to know about daylight saving time.

Didn’t Congress vote to end daylight saving time?

There have been many discussions about ending daylight saving time, but no action has been taken since a bill passed the U.S. Senate in 2022.

In 2021, federal lawmakers introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a move that would ensure Americans no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. However, the bill has stagnated in the House of Representatives, so it has not been enacted.

Nineteen other states have passed their own laws to enact permanent daylight saving time, although Kansas and Missouri are not among them. These state laws can’t go into effect without federal approval.

Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, don’t observe the time shift. They live year-round on standard time, which has more light in the morning and less in the evening.

What is the purpose of daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is a way to save energy and light during the spring and summer months. The four-week extension of daylight saving time saved around 0.5% of the nation’s electricity per day in 2008, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Studies taken at organizations like Stanford University and National Geographic show that the extra hour of sunlight in the evenings resulted in safer drivinglower crime rates and better tourism for cities, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Critics of daylight saving time say more dark mornings could lead to grogginess for commuters and parents who drive their children to school in the cold months.

Other concerns about daylight saving time include:
  • Disruptions to harvesting schedules for farmers

  • Interference with religious observances based on solar and lunar time

  • Potential delays in reworking computer systems programmed to switch twice a year.

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