The vast majority of Americans are set to lose an hour of sleep tonight as people move their clocks forward by one hour, signaling the beginning of Daylight Saving Time. However, several states are making moves to do away with the biannual tradition established more than 100 years ago.
This year's shift forward officially begins at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, March 10. No time change will be observed in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. Officials say it's a good time to replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and review fire and safety drills with your families.
Critics of the practice say there's not much benefit to springing forward, and in fact, could be unhealthy for many people. Sleep disruption and general confusion generated by the "time travel" is blamed for numerous problems including spikes in diagnoses of depression as one study found, or a "modest" increase in heart attacks as another discovered.
California residents fed up with the switch are hoping to do away with the tradition. In November, sixty percent of residents in the Golden State passed a ballot proposition that would keep Daylight Saving going year-round in the state. It's not a done deal, the proposition requires a two-thirds vote by the state legislature and approval from Congress before it can go into effect. Assembly Bill 7 has not yet been taken up by lawmakers in Sacramento, but it has been referred to a committee. Opponents to the measure say if passed, some parts of the state wouldn't see the sun come up until 8 a.m. during the winter months, meaning children would be going to school in the dark.
Florida has passed their own bill to adopt daylight saving year round, but residents there also need Congress' approval to exempt themselves from standard time.
Daylight Savings Time was created during World War I to help save energy used for lights for the war effort. Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states who do not recognize Daylight Saving Time.
For now, you can circle November 3rd on the calendar as the day you'll get that hour of sleep back.
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