When Does Daylight Saving Time Begin: What Wisconsin’s Doing

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin is about to switch to daylight saving time, though a poll shows about 40 percent of Americans want to ditch it.

Daylight saving time, when most Americans will move their clocks ahead one hour — or spring forward — begins Sunday, March 8, in Wisconsin, giving us an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day.

Daylight saving time isn’t a thing in Hawaii and, for the most part, Arizona, though the Navajo Nation in the Grand Canyon State does observe daylight saving time (often incorrectly called daylight savings time).

Those two states may have it right, according to the results of an October Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll that found Americans are increasingly frustrated by the biannual time switch and want it to end.

The daylight saving time poll found only 28 percent want to continue moving clocks ahead an hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall. About 40 percent want to adopt standard time year-round, while about 31 percent prefer year-round daylight saving time.

The poll also showed Americans 45 and older support year-round daylight saving time, while only 22 percent of those younger than want to make ditch it altogether.

Daylight saving time has been around since World War I. But it became the law of the land more than 50 years ago with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, although the exact dates — now the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November — have changed some over the years.

At least 40 states have entertained the idea of adopting a year-round time in a patchwork of bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States that prefer year-round standard time can opt out of the Uniform Time Act, as Arizona and Hawaii did, but they need congressional approval to permanently adopt daylight saving time.

Lawmakers in Wisconsin tried wading into the issue. According to a Wausau Daily News report, Wisconsin lawmakers tried to introduce legislation to kick daylight saving time to the curb in 2017 when State Reps. Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem) and Michael Schraa, (R-Oshkosh) introduced legislation to do just that. According to the report, their bill got such a negative response that the pulled the bill before Wisconsin legislators could vote on it.

It’s not just psychological. Researchers have linked the biannual time switch to increases in the short-term risk of a heart attack, fatal car crashes and even harsher sentences for criminal defendants when judges are sleepy. The energy savings touted with daylight saving time have also been called into question in an increasing number of studies that suggest there’s not much benefit to daylight saving time.

There are ways to avoid sleep deprivation — which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says already affects about one-third of adults in the United States. Here are some tips:

• You know it’s coming. Go to bed an hour early Saturday, and make sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep.
• Get the kids to bed early, too. They pay more attention to their internal clocks than timepieces, so implement the routine Saturday night to help them adjust to the lighter-than-usual bedtime, so they’ll be set up for a good night’s sleep before school Monday.
• Be patient with the kids. They may throw temper tantrums or show signs of frustration, but it’s usually short-lived. Adults can also be cranky during the first several days after the time switch. You’ll get over it, too.
• New baby? Pretend nothing has changed. That means taking the baby outside, even if it’s cold, to help the baby’s internal clock adjust. Getting 30 minutes of sunlight first thing in the morning will help you, too.
• Limit your vices. That shot of booze may seem like a good idea, but it will fragment your sleep. And, of course, limit your caffeine intake in the late afternoon and evening. Chamomile tea or a glass of warm milk is a better choice.
• Don’t eat a big meal right before bedtime either.
• If you are using the extra hour of daylight at the end of the day for exercise, make sure your session ends three hours before bedtime, because the energy boost exercise gives you can cause insomnia.
• Wind down with a relaxing activity, like a warm bath or shower, gentle stretching or yoga.
• Let the sun shine in. Experts say that pulling back the curtains and allowing the sun to shine in the windows in the morning improves alertness during the day. You’re also more likely to feel sleepy when it is time to go to bed.
• Turn off the bright lights an hour or two before you go to bed — yes, even the television, your computer and other electronic devices. Read a relaxing book or listen to soothing music instead.
• Don’t give in to the urge for a long nap. Take a brief power nap if you need, but longer naps will disrupt your sleep schedule and make it more difficult to adjust to Daylight Saving Time.
• Make your bedroom is a sleep sanctuary — dark, quiet, well ventilated and at a slightly cooler temperature.