2026 Clock Shift: What to Know as Daylight Saving Ends
WHO:
Fast Company - Stanford Medicine health professionals oppose permanent daylight saving time.
Fast Company - President Donald Trump supports eliminating the current system of daylight saving time.
PBS - The American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine support adopting standard time year-round.
PBS - President Donald Trump backs permanent daylight saving time and urged senators, including Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, to support it.
Alternet - Sen. Tom Cotton opposes permanent daylight saving time and said Americans had experienced “absurdly late sunrises in the winter” when it was tried before.
Alternet - Trump posted Cotton’s personal cellphone number and urged people to contact him.
Alternet - Trump reported nearly $395 million in golf-course revenue from his 16 courses.
Alternet - Chronobiologist Ralph Mistlberger, of Simon Fraser University, co-authored a review of research on daylight saving time.
WHAT:
Phys.org - A new analysis reported in *Current Biology* found that making daylight saving time permanent could force millions of U.S. schoolchildren to travel before sunrise for much of the school year, when fatal pedestrian crashes are more likely.
Fast Company - A survey found 56% of Americans favor making daylight saving time permanent.
PBS - Most countries do not observe daylight saving time; among countries that do, most are in North America and Europe.
PBS - The fall transition can be difficult for people with seasonal affective disorder, shift workers, and people already regularly sleep-deprived.
PBS - Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease and cognitive decline.
Alternet - The Englishman William Willett, an avid golfer, invented the idea of shifting clocks to give golfers another hour to play in the evening.
Alternet - A study of more than 20 years of mining-industry injury data found workers were injured more often and less productive the day after a clock change.
NBC News - Dr. Mike Varshavski said people typically use only about 60% of the extra time after the fall clock change, averaging roughly 36 minutes of additional sleep.
NBC News - Varshavski said gaining an hour of sleep may lower fight-or-flight activation, blood pressure and overall physiological stress.
NBC News - The American Heart Association has noted that heart attacks and strokes increase in the days after the spring clock change.
Alternet - A Canadian Medical Association Journal review reported that people on the western edge of a time zone sleep nearly an hour less per week than those on the eastern edge; the review linked western-edge residence with worse moods, lower productivity and poorer school performance.
Alternet - The article said the golf industry told Congress that extending daylight saving time by one month could generate at least $200 million in additional annual revenue.
Alternet - The article reported that 79% of Americans supported year-round daylight saving time when it began in 1974, but support fell to 42% by the end of that year.
Fast Company - Most U.S. clocks are set back one hour, from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. local time, when daylight saving time ends; most Americans gain an hour of sleep.
Fast Company - The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but Senate approval is still needed for it to become law.
PBS - Hawaii and most of Arizona remain on standard time and do not change clocks.
PBS - An AP-NORC poll found 12% of American adults favored the twice-yearly clock changes, while almost half opposed them; most respondents forced to choose preferred extra evening daylight.
PBS - About one in three U.S. adults sleep fewer than seven hours nightly; more than half of U.S. teens get fewer than eight hours on weeknights.
Alternet - The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act by 308–117; the bill was awaiting Senate action.
Alternet - A K12 analysis estimated that 94 of the 100 largest school districts would have children commuting to school in darkness every winter morning under permanent daylight saving time. Large districts would average 117 dark commutes annually, versus 77 under the current system and 35 under permanent standard time.
Alternet - A University of Colorado analysis of 22 years of federal crash data found traffic fatalities rose about 6% in the week after clocks spring forward. A Michigan hospital study found heart attacks rose 24% on the morning after the spring change.
WHERE:
Fast Company - The clock change applies to most of the United States.
Alternet - A 1974 account from near Lansing, Michigan, described sunrise at 9 a.m. during year-round daylight saving time and children waiting for school buses under streetlights.
WHEN:
Fast Company - The 2026 fall clock change is scheduled for November 1 at 2 a.m. local time; clocks will be set back to 1 a.m.
Fast Company - Daylight saving time is scheduled to return March 14, 2027.
WHY:
Fast Company - Sleep and medical groups say permanent standard time better protects circadian rhythms; disrupted rhythms are associated with health problems, including stroke and obesity.
PBS - Morning light helps synchronize the body clock; evening light can delay melatonin release and disrupt sleep patterns.
Alternet - Mistlberger said, “Morning light is the primary environmental time cue that aligns our biological clocks to local time. If morning light is delayed, our clocks and all the rhythms they control are delayed.”
Alternet - The article attributed support for year-round daylight saving time partly to golf-industry interests and reported Trump cited the need for more afternoon daylight for golf and other activities.
HOW:
NBC News - Dr. Mike Varshavski said people use about 60% of the extra hour, averaging around 36 minutes of additional sleep; he advised adjusting nighttime routines by 10 to 20 minutes before the change and keeping wake-up times consistent.
PBS - If morning outdoor sunlight is unavailable, sitting by windows can help provide light exposure.
NBC News - Varshavski advised shifting nighttime routines by 10 to 20 minutes before the clock change and prioritizing a consistent wake-up time.
PBS - Shifting bedtime by about 15 minutes per night before a clock change and getting morning sunlight may help adjust the circadian rhythm.
PBS - The brain’s circadian clock responds to sunlight and darkness and influences sleepiness, alertness, heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.
Alternet - The article said Russia reversed permanent daylight time after three years and Chile reversed its 2015 trial; the United States also repealed its 1974 year-round daylight-saving trial.
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 16:02 UTC)
A new analysis finds permanent daylight saving time could leave millions of U.S. schoolchildren commuting in darkness, while medical groups including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine favor standard time year-round to better protect sleep and circadian rhythms. President Trump supports permanent daylight saving time and urged senators to back it, but Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton opposes the idea; the House has passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which still needs Senate approval. Most U.S. clocks are scheduled to fall back on November 1, and experts say morning sunlight and a consistent wake-up time can help people adjust.
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(UPDATED October 29, 2026 14:05 UTC)
President Trump backs making daylight saving time permanent, but the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Stanford Medicine health professionals favor standard time year-round, citing the benefits of morning light for sleep and health. The House has passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but it still needs Senate approval; Senator Tom Cotton opposes permanent daylight saving time, warning of very late winter sunrises, and Trump urged senators to support the change and posted Cotton’s personal cellphone number. While a survey found 56% of Americans favor permanent daylight saving time, sleep experts warn that darker mornings could disrupt body clocks, and an analysis estimated that children in 94 of the 100 largest school districts would commute to school in darkness each winter morning.
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(UPDATED October 29, 2026 13:03 UTC)
Most U.S. clocks are set back an hour when daylight saving time ends, but President Trump is backing permanent daylight saving time and has urged senators to support it, despite opposition from Sen. Tom Cotton. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which still needs Senate approval, while sleep and medical groups favor permanent standard time, citing the role of morning light in regulating the body clock and health. Research has linked the spring clock change with more heart attacks and traffic deaths, and experts suggest easing into clock changes by shifting bedtime gradually and keeping a consistent wake-up time.
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(UPDATED October 29, 2026 12:08 UTC)
President Trump supports making daylight saving time permanent, while the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine favor standard time year-round, citing its benefits for sleep and the body’s clock. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but it still needs Senate approval; a school-district analysis estimates permanent daylight saving would leave students in 94 of the 100 largest districts commuting in darkness on winter mornings. Most Americans gain an hour of sleep when clocks go back, and Hawaii and most of Arizona do not change clocks.