Daylight Savings: When to 'spring forward' and what changes on March 8
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, March 8, millions of clocks will automatically move ahead one hour as much of the United States returns to daylight savings. The shift matters now because it immediately alters sunrise and sunset times, reshaping daylight for commuters, businesses and sleep schedules.
Daylight Savings: Clocks move forward in the "wee hours" on March 8
On March 8, clocks across most of the country will jump ahead one hour during the early morning. That one-hour advance causes later sunsets and later sunrises: for example, sunset moves from 5: 34 p. m. on March 1 to 7: 09 p. m. by the end of March. Morning people will notice sunrises after 7 a. m. for a short period because the clock change pushes dawn later into the day.
Because the clock change adds an hour to evening daylight, the daylength on March 8 will be about 11 hours and 34 minutes. By the end of March, observers will have gained roughly 86 minutes of additional daylight for the month, and still will approach nearly three more hours of added daylight heading into the summer solstice on June 21. These shifts directly follow the decision to move clocks forward, producing measurable changes in when daylight begins and ends.
Sunsets, sunrises and daylight gains through March and into June
The immediate effect of springing forward is a redistribution of daylight from morning to evening. Over the course of March the lengthening daylight is pronounced: roughly 86 extra minutes across the month and continued gains into June. Solar spring began earlier this year on Feb. 6, and meteorological spring begins with March; astronomical spring starts on March 20 with the equinox. Small behavioral signs of the seasonal shift are already appearing—birdsong in the mornings is increasing ahead of the clock change—underscoring how the time change interacts with natural rhythms.
What makes this notable is the compressed window of standard time compared with the recent past: since 2007 the country moved the start of daylight saving time to the second Sunday in March, shortening the period spent on standard time relative to the years 1987–2006. That legislative change has shifted how quickly daylight accumulates in the evenings each year.
Sunshine Protection Act, medical groups and the Uniform Time Act
The recurring practice of changing clocks traces back to World War I and was later standardized by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Efforts to end the twice-yearly clock changes have persisted: the Sunshine Protection Act, aimed at placing the nation permanently on daylight saving time, has been introduced repeatedly since 2018. The Senate gave unanimous support in 2022, but the measure did not pass the House. Another version of the bill was introduced in January 2025 and currently remains before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; the former president has voiced support for the change.
Not all authorities favor permanent daylight time. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine argue that eliminating time switches is desirable, but contend that staying on standard time year-round better aligns with the sun and human biology for more consistent sleep. That divide—between a push for permanent evening daylight and medical groups favoring standard time—frames the policy debate even as clocks continue to change in March.
The practical takeaway for residents is immediate: clocks jump ahead one hour on March 8, producing later evenings and delayed mornings, while the long-running national conversation over whether to stop the switches continues in Congress and among health organizations.
