Daylight Saving Time nears bringing another hour of evening sun

Do you feel more tired after shifting to Daylight Saving Time? You are not alone. Sleep scientists have found that more than half of Americans usually feel tired after the change.

After 19 weeks on Pacific Standard Time (PST), we return to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) this Sunday. On Sunday, March 9, we ‘spring forward’ an hour at 2 a.m. early that morning.

The time change has found an increase in traffic crashes and workplace injuries on the day after “spring forward” compared to other Mondays. Even though the circadian rhythm gets disrupted by time changes, the impacts fade away in a matter of days, similar to jet lag when flying overseas or from one coast to another.

The Washington state legislature authorized keeping the state on daylight time in 2019, and Oregon and California have as well. However, only the U.S. Congress can authorize one or more states to stay either permanently in daylight time. In recent years, Senator Murray has led several efforts to have the Senate pass the Sunshine Protection Act. In 2021, it passed the Senate by unanimous vote, but the bill never made it to the floor of the House of Representatives.

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Daylight Saving Time may soon be ending in western states

Another option is to remain permanently on Standard time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, already do this, and that switch does not require U.S. Congressional action. In recent years, a few bills that went before the state legislature would have kept the state permanently on Standard Time, but they all failed to advance. The legislators are now leading this effort by coordinating with neighboring western U.S. states to collectively enact this permanent Standard Time authorization.

There is great debate on the pros and cons of permanent Standard Time. For instance, human health follows the sun, and Standard Time shadows the natural circadian cycle. If Standard Time became permanent, then around the summer solstice in June, sunrise in Washington would be near 4 a.m. and sunset around 8 p.m. Proponents of permanent Daylight Time highlight the longer summer evening hours for more outdoor activities and decreased crime.

There are many more arguments on both sides of the Standard versus Daylight Time debate, but what is far more apparent is that a high percentage of Americans want to stop the twice a year time changes.

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It’s a good time to change the batteries

But because we will be switching to PDT for at least another year, fire agencies and the National Weather Service want to remind us that the time change is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon dioxide detectors and your NOAA Weather Radios. Too many fatal fire tragedies occur because smoke detectors have dead batteries. Your all-hazard NOAA Weather Radios also need to operate when the power goes out and provide reliable all-hazards warning information.

This Saturday night, remember to move your clocks ahead one hour. Your cell phones and computers should automatically change the time.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. You can read more of Ted’s stories here and follow him on X.