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Daylight Saving Time Is Winding Down: What to Know

Clocks "fall back" an hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, marking the end of daylight saving

What's better than sleep? An extra hour of it.

It’s that time of the year when clocks "fall back" an hour, marking the end of daylight saving time. The change takes place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4.

When you go to bed on Saturday night, don’t forget to turn your clock back an hour. But don't worry about electronic devices like cellphones. By default, they are set to automatically update the time as it changes.

In observance of the biannual switch in time, here are some things you may not have known about this event.

It Has an Impact on Your Health
Switching into and out of daylight saving can disturb people’s sleeping routines, making them more restless at night, according to U.S. News and World Report. However, morning people tend to be less bothered by the changes. Studies have shown that during the first week of daylight saving time there is a spike in the number of reported heart attacks. Some experts suggest, according to the report, that the loss of an hour’s rest may make people more vulnerable to an attack. Nonetheless, when people get an extra hour in the fall, the incidents of heart attacks are less than usual.

When Was DST Implemented
Before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which established a uniform daylight saving time, local governments could start and end daylight saving time as they desired. For five weeks a year Boston, New York and Philadelphia were not on the same time as Washington, D.C., Cleveland or Baltimore. Different daylight saving times also caused confusion for travelers going from the Midwest to Northeast.

In 2005, President George W. Bush extended the daylight saving time for an extra four weeks through an energy bill. Since 2007, daylight saving time has begun on the second Sunday of March, ending on the first Sunday of November.

Not All States Observe DST
Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time. Indiana did not observe the practice until 2005. The American territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also do not participate.

Some states have tried to get rid of daylight saving time but haven't been successful. In the last year alone, 19 state legislatures have proposed bills aimed at opting out of changing their clocks. 

Earlier this year, Florida legislators approved a bill that would keep the Sunshine State under daylight saving time year-round. However, the measure won't take effect unless Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation approve it. 

Founding Father Did Not Come Up with DST
According to the History Channel, Benjamin Franklin did not come up with the idea of daylight saving time; he only suggested a change in sleep schedules.

Englishman William Willett is the one who suggested in 1905 that the United Kingdom move its clocks forward by 80 minutes between April and October, so people could enjoy the sunlight. He published "The Waste of Daylight" and spent much of his fortune and time promoting the idea.

Don't Trust Automatic Time Changes
It's good to confirm if your phone or other electronic devices have changed to the correct time. In 2013, iPhone customers experienced a daylight saving time bug. Some users saw two different times displayed on their calendar app, which was apparently caused by a change that moved daylight saving time back a week in 2007. In 2010 iPhones had another problem in which the phones did not correctly change alarm schedules when daylight saving time ended, causing some European iPhone users to wake up late for work, while Australians were woken up early.

DST is Singular Not Plural
By the way, it's "daylight saving time," not "daylight savings time."

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