As US adjusts to daylights savings here are the countries which change up and those that DON'T

PUBLISHEDTue Mar 14 2023 18:18 GMT

UPDATEDTue Mar 14 2023 20:34 GMT

It's as controversial as its supporters say it's necessary - but like clockwork, daylight savings leaves hundreds of millions of Americans waking up groggy one Sunday in March.

While some enjoy clawing back more daylight later on in the day - others resent losing an hour of sleep.

Indeed, while the US has practiced daylight savings more or less consistently since 1918, fewer than 40 percent of the countries of the world still do so.

Aside from Hawaii and Arizona, the rest of the US has consistently practiced daylight savings.

Despite the tradition, several residents and lawmakers have opposed the time switch and have consistently advocated halting the tradition.

Daylight savings occurred at 2am local time on Sunday for most the US

About 40 percent of countries continue to observe daylight savings, and at one time, about 140 countries practiced the switching of clocks

A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill to make daylight savings permanent on Thursday after unanimously voting last year to end the practice, according to Reuters.

The bill failed in the US House of Representatives because lawmakers couldn't decide on whether to keep the time to standard time, also known as winter time, or daylight savings.

Canada, Paraguay, Cuba, Haiti, Chile, New Zealand, the Levant and areas of Australia also follow the practice of switching the clocks twice a year, according to Statista.

Meanwhile, Mexico decided to stop daylight savings this year and move forward with permanently implementing winter time, while Baja California moved their clocks permanently forward.

The European Union also switches the clocks twice a year but at a later date than the US. Daylight savings will begin in the EU on March 26.

The changing of clocks twice a year has been a contentious practice in the US as several lawmakers attempt to halt the change

Most of Africa has either never practiced time change or has once before, but Egypt is one of the few countries on the continent that will start to practice daylight savings to save energy, according to Statista.

Meanwhile, most of Asia has dropped the practice changing of clocks despite once observing the twice-a-year switch.

As for South America, nearly every country, aside from the Chile and Paraguay, doesn't switch the clocks.

Daylight Savings Time: An American ritual since 1918 that has sparked furious debate across the country

What is Daylight Savings Time?

Daylight Savings Time is the process of setting clocks back one hour during the spring so that the evening daylight lasts longer during the day while sunrise hours are subsequently reduced.

The origins of Daylight Savings Time are generally thought to go back to the ideas of William Willett, an English builder who proposed the modern concept of Daylight Savings Time in 1907 as a way to enjoy the extra daylight in the summer months and save money.

Willett lobbied the British Parliament extensively but ironically passed away shortly before its adoption by Germany, the UK and many other European countries in 1916 and elsewhere in the years that followed.

Which states do not participate in DST?

Although most parts of the United States observe Daylight Savings Time, it is not practiced in Arizona (except on Navajo tribal lands), Hawaii and the United States territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

What year did Daylight Savings Time start in the US?

Daylight Savings Time was adopted in the United States in 1918 but was repealed in 1919 due to the end of World War I and its widespread unpopularity among the American public, although states and cities had the option to observe it should they choose to.

President Franklin Roosevelt reinstituted Daylight Savings Time from February 9, 1942 until September 30, 1945.

Due to confusion of some states and cities continuing to observe Daylight Savings Time in the ensuing years, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to establish a uniform Daylight Savings Time in each time zone, exempting states which chose to stay on standard time. Since then, it's been observed by most states in the country.

Benefits and drawbacks of Daylight Savings Time

Proponents of DST say that adding an extra hour of sunshine in the evening motivates people to get out of the house and do something active, therefore helping with health and fitness levels, as well as increasing Vitamin D consumption as less artificial light is needed. This also saves on energy costs.

However, studies have found that in modern day society, energy costs actually tend to increase due to extended use of air conditioning units and computers.

But the biggest argument against Daylight Savings Time is that it disrupts our body clocks or circadian rhythm, which in some cases can be dangerous. The risk of suffering a heart attack increases when DST begins, while an extra hour of darkness has also been linked to depression.