Time For Your Clocks to Spring Forward

If you haven't already, it's time to turn your clocks forward by one hour for daylight saving time. 

Beginning at 2 a.m. today, we’ll all lose an hour of precious sleep when we set our clocks forward.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, there really is no set number of hours of sleep that an average adult should get because there are so many variables to consider.

How it Works

During the late winter, we lose an hour when we set our clocks forward. In the fall, we gain an hour when we turn our clocks backward. Hence the “spring forward, fall back” phrase to help us remember which direction we’re moving in.

During World War I, daylight saving time was instituted in the United States in order to save energy for war production. During World War II, the government again required the states to observe the time change. For the time between the two wars -- and after World War II -- states and communities individually chose whether or not to observe daylight saving time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of daylight saving time.

In 2007, daylight saving time became four weeks longer because of the passage of the Energy Policy Act. The thought behind the act was that extending daylight saving time could save the country 10,000 barrels of oil each day as businesses reduced power usage during daylight hours.

More than 1 billion people in about 70 countries throughout the world observe daylight saving time.