Daylight Savings Time returns March 8 as clocks ‘spring forward’
Millions will lose an hour of sleep when daylight savings time begins on March 8, 2026, as clocks jump forward by one hour overnight. The shift reshuffles morning and evening light at a moment when lawmakers and medical groups continue to clash over whether to keep changing clocks.
March 8 switch and the 2 a. m. rollover
The calendar move happens on the second Sunday in March, with the technical change taking place at 2 a. m. local time; clocks are set forward one hour that night. The measure puts the country onto daylight time for roughly 34 weeks, ending on the first Sunday in November and meaning clocks are on daylight time for more than half the year.
On the day of the switch there will be roughly 11 hours and 34 minutes of daylight, and by the end of March the calendar will have gained about another hour of daylight for the month—an increase described in totals as roughly 86 minutes of added light over March. That shift moves evening sunsets from about 5: 34 p. m. at the start of March to approximately 7: 09 p. m. by the month’s end, while pushing many sunrises past 7 a. m. for a period.
Daylight Savings Time and the Sunshine Protection Act
Efforts have continued in Congress to eliminate the twice-yearly clock change by making daylight time permanent. The Sunshine Protection Act, a recurring legislative vehicle for that goal, was most recently reintroduced in January 2025 and remains before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Earlier versions of the measure won unanimous Senate approval in 2022 but ultimately did not clear the House of Representatives.
The timing matters because the legislative path has stalled repeatedly: lawmakers have debated whether to lock the country on daylight time year-round, a change that would remove the spring and fall clock shifts but preserve the later evening light. Proponents say a permanent switch would eliminate the disruptive transition; opponents, including some medical groups, argue that staying on standard time year-round better aligns with human circadian rhythms.
Health, safety and who does not observe the change
Medical organizations have weighed in on the effects of the spring change. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have urged an end to time switches but have recommended keeping standard time year-round for better sleep alignment. Research cited by commentators links the March clock change to rises in car crashes and other health risks such as heart attack, stroke and suicide, and academic teams have suggested that eliminating the transitions could prevent cases of stroke and obesity.
Not every part of the country takes part in the ritual. Hawaii and Arizona are among the states that do not observe the clock change, and several U. S. territories—including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U. S. Virgin Islands—also remain on steady time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized the national framework for timekeeping, and past national experiments with permanent daylight time—most notably a trial in the 1970s—were rescinded after public pushback and mixed energy results.
What makes this notable is the way a single, brief overnight adjustment produces measurable shifts in both daily schedules and public health metrics while reigniting long-running policy debates. For now, households and businesses should prepare for the March 8 change at 2 a. m., with later evenings and shorter winter mornings marking the first weeks after the clocks move forward.
