It happens like clockwork. You wake up on a Sunday morning, squint at the microwave, and realize you have absolutely no idea what time it actually is. Your phone says 8:00 AM. The oven insists it is 9:00 AM. For a split second, you feel like a time traveler, or at least someone who desperately needs a coffee. People always ask when do the clocks go back an hour, usually while panic-searching their calendars in late October. It’s one of those weird, collective rituals we all participate in, yet nobody seems to fully remember the rules until the sun starts setting at 4:30 PM and we all descend into a mild seasonal grumpiness.
Basically, if you are in the United States, the clocks "fall back" on the first Sunday of November. This year, 2026, that falls on November 1st. At exactly 2:00 AM, the time shifts back to 1:00 AM. You get an extra hour of sleep, which sounds like a win until you realize you’ll be commuting home in pitch darkness for the next four months. In the UK and much of Europe, they do things a bit earlier, shifting their clocks on the last Sunday of October. It’s a mess of coordination, honestly.
The weird history of why we even do this
Most people blame Benjamin Franklin. They think he sat down under a candle and decided to mess with our internal rhythms just for fun. Not quite. Franklin actually wrote a satirical essay in 1784 suggesting Parisians could save money on candles by getting out of bed earlier. He was joking. The guy who actually took it seriously was George Hudson, an entomologist from New Zealand. He wanted more daylight in the evenings to collect bugs. Imagine that—the entire western world shifts its schedule twice a year because one guy wanted to hunt beetles after work.
Then came World War I. Germany was the first to adopt Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 1916 to conserve coal. The rest of Europe and the US followed suit pretty quickly. It was marketed as a way to save energy, a "patriotic" move for the war effort. But once the war ended, everyone hated it. Farmers, in particular, were livid. If you’ve ever tried to explain to a cow that it needs to be milked an hour later because of a government mandate, you’ll understand why. The US actually repealed it nationally after the war, leaving a chaotic patchwork where some cities kept it and others didn't.
Eventually, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 stepped in to stop the madness. It didn't force states to use DST, but it said if they were going to do it, they had to do it on the same day. This is why Arizona and Hawaii can just opt out. They looked at the 115-degree heat and decided they definitely did not need an extra hour of afternoon sun.
💡 You might also like: Why Every Mom and Daughter Photo You Take Actually Matters
The physical toll of the time shift
You might think an extra hour of sleep is a gift. It isn't. Not really. Our bodies run on a circadian rhythm that is tuned to the sun, not the Department of Transportation. When you ask when do the clocks go back an hour, you’re also asking when your sleep cycle is going to get punched in the gut.
Research from the University of Colorado Boulder has shown that even the "gain" of an hour in the fall messes with us. While the spring shift (losing an hour) is famously linked to a spike in heart attacks and car accidents, the fall shift has its own baggage. We see a jump in "Seasonal Affective Disorder" or SAD. It’s the sudden loss of evening light. One day you’re walking the dog at 5:30 PM in the twilight; the next day, it’s midnight-dark.
- The sun sets earlier, which can trigger depressive symptoms in vulnerable people.
- Pedestrian accidents actually increase in the weeks following the fall back because drivers aren't used to the darkness during rush hour.
- Our internal clocks, or "chronotypes," take about a week to fully adjust.
I talked to a sleep specialist once who told me that we should treat the time change like mild jet lag. You wouldn't fly across the country and expect to feel 100% the next morning. So why do we expect to do it just because we clicked a button on our iPhones?
Is Daylight Saving Time actually dying?
Every year, there is a massive push to "Lock the Clock." You’ve probably seen the headlines. The Sunshine Protection Act has been floating around Congress like a ghost for years. The idea is to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. No more switching. No more "falling back."
📖 Related: Sport watch water resist explained: why 50 meters doesn't mean you can dive
The problem is that scientists and politicians can’t agree on which time to keep. Most sleep experts, including those at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, argue that we should actually stay on Standard Time (the one we enter when the clocks go back in November). Standard Time aligns better with natural light. If we stayed on Daylight Saving Time all winter, the sun wouldn't rise in some northern states until 9:00 AM. Kids would be waiting for school buses in total darkness.
On the flip side, retailers and golf course owners love DST. More light in the evening means more people out spending money. It’s a classic battle between biological health and economic activity.
How to handle the shift without losing your mind
Since we are stuck with the system for now, you might as well prepare for November 1st. Don't just wait until Saturday night to think about it.
Start by shifting your bedtime by 15 minutes each night during the last week of October. It sounds obsessive, but it works. By the time Sunday hits, your body is already halfway there. Also, get outside the moment you wake up on Sunday morning. Natural light is the strongest signal to your brain to reset its internal clock. If you stay in a dark house all day, you'll feel like a zombie by 4:00 PM.
👉 See also: Pink White Nail Studio Secrets and Why Your Manicure Isn't Lasting
Most of our gadgets handle this for us now. Your smartphone, laptop, and smart fridge (if you’re into that sort of thing) will update automatically. But don't forget the "dumb" devices. The dashboard clock in your car, that one old-school analog watch in your drawer, and the microwave. Especially the microwave. There is nothing worse than being three weeks into November and realizing you’re an hour late for a meeting because you trusted the stove clock.
What to do right now
Stop stressing about the exact second the time changes and focus on the transition. The goal is to minimize the "social jet lag" that comes with the shift.
- Check your smoke detectors. This is the classic advice for a reason. When you go around the house changing those manual clocks, swap the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It’s a simple habit that saves lives.
- Adjust your lighting. If you know the darkness affects your mood, look into a light therapy box. Use it for 20 minutes in the morning starting the first week of November.
- Audit your evening routine. Since it’s going to be dark earlier, you might find yourself wanting to eat dinner earlier or go to bed sooner. Listen to your body, but try to stay consistent with your wake-up time.
- Watch the road. Be extra careful during your evening commute for the first week after the clocks go back. Other drivers are tired, frustrated, and struggling with the new glare of headlights in the dark.
The shift is inevitable, at least for now. While we wait for the politicians to decide if we’re ever going to stop this 100-year-old experiment, the best thing you can do is embrace the extra hour of sleep and buy some decent curtains.