Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1, when clocks in most of the United States “fall back” one hour. That means one extra hour on the night of Saturday, October 31, which happens to be Halloween.
The fall change gets less attention than the spring one, mostly because nobody complains about gaining an hour. But sleep experts say any shift in the clock can unsettle your routine, and the days and weeks after the switch bring their own challenges, from groggy mornings to darker evening drives. Here is what is actually going on and how to make the transition smoother.
What changes when the clocks go back
Daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. When it ends, the clock moves back an hour, but the sun doesn’t care: sunrise and sunset stay where they were. What shifts is how that light lines up with your daily schedule. Mornings get lighter earlier, and evenings get dark sooner.
That matters because, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), light and darkness are the most powerful cues for our sense of alertness and sleepiness. Our sleep-wake rhythm, or circadian rhythm, closely follows the 24-hour light-dark cycle. Change the timing of light relative to your day, and your body clock has to catch up.
Not every state takes part. Most of Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe daylight saving time, and neither do American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. If you live in one of those places, you can skip ahead to the section on darker evenings, since the time change itself won’t affect you.
Who feels it most
The AASM says clock changes can be especially hard on people who are already short on sleep or have other sleep difficulties. It singles out two groups:
- Teenagers, who often run a sleep deficit during the school week.
- Night shift workers, who already struggle to sleep well during the day.
The academy also points to research linking both the spring and fall time changes with mood disturbances, and the spring change with more heart attacks, strokes, emergency room visits and traffic accidents. The spring switch, which costs an hour, generally gets the blame for the biggest problems, but the fall change is still a disruption.
Before the switch
The AASM recommends getting ready a few days in advance rather than letting the change catch you on Sunday morning.
Protect your baseline
Aim for at least seven hours of sleep a night for adults, or eight hours for teens, both before and after the time change. Going into the switch well rested gives you more room to absorb it.
Shift gradually
For the fall change, the AASM suggests moving your bedtime 15 to 20 minutes later each night for a few nights beforehand. That way, your body is already closer to the new schedule when the clocks move.
There is one important exception. If you have been chronically short on sleep, the academy says you should not shift your bedtime later. Instead, keep your usual bedtime and let the “extra” hour on Saturday night work in your favor.
Move the rest of your routine, too
Your body clock responds to more than bedtime. The AASM recommends adjusting other daily routines, such as mealtimes, to match the new schedule before the change happens.
The weekend of the change
On Saturday evening, set your clocks to the new time and then go to bed at your normal bedtime. An older AASM tip for the fall change puts it simply: wait until bedtime to change the clocks, go to bed at your usual time, and wake up at your regular time with a little extra sleep.
If you’re spending the evening at a Halloween party or trick-or-treating with kids, it’s worth deciding ahead of time when you want to wind down. A late night plus a clock change can easily erase the extra hour you were counting on.
Light is your other main tool. In the fall, the AASM advises keeping light exposure to a minimum until your target wake-up time in the morning. Because mornings will now be brighter earlier, that might mean closing the blinds or using an eye mask so early sunlight doesn’t wake you before you intend to get up.
Finally, get plenty of sleep on Sunday night so you start the week rested.
The week after
Watch out for drowsy driving
The days after the change can leave people more tired than usual, and that affects driving. In a 2025 AASM survey, 41% of US adults said they had felt so sleepy while driving that it affected their ability to drive safely. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that about one in six fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver, according to the AASM.
Warning signs the academy lists include frequent yawning, trouble keeping your eyes open or your head up, not remembering the last few miles, missing your exit or road signs, and drifting out of your lane or onto the rumble strip. If any of that happens, pull over somewhere safe or hand the keys to someone else. A short nap at a rest stop is better than pushing on.
Keep your schedule steady
It can be tempting to treat the extra hour as permission to stay up later all week. A steady bedtime and wake time will help your body settle into the new schedule faster than letting both drift.
Darker evenings and the “winter blues”
Once the clocks fall back, many people find themselves commuting home in the dark. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), many people feel “down” or have the “winter blues” when the days get shorter in fall and winter, and feel better in spring when longer daylight hours return.
For some people, it is more than that. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression with a recurring seasonal pattern. In most cases, symptoms begin in late fall or early winter and ease in spring and summer. NIMH notes that it is more common in women than in men and in people who live farther north, such as in Alaska or New England, where winter days are shorter.
If your mood, energy, sleep or appetite changes noticeably every fall and stays that way for weeks, that is worth raising with a health care provider. NIMH says SAD is diagnosed based on a recurring pattern over at least two consecutive years, and it is treatable.
Why sleep experts want to stop changing the clocks
The AASM’s official position is that the United States should stop switching clocks twice a year and adopt permanent standard time, the time we are about to return to. The academy says standard time lines up best with human biology because your body clock, sunrise and sunset, and the clock on the wall are more in sync. Its updated 2023 position statement was endorsed by 20 medical, scientific and civic organizations.
Public opinion leans the same way on the basic question. An AASM survey of more than 2,000 US adults found that 63% supported getting rid of seasonal time changes. A 2025 Gallup poll cited by the academy found that 48% of Americans prefer year-round standard time, 24% favor permanent daylight saving time and 19% want to keep changing the clocks.
Only Congress can change how long daylight saving time lasts, so for now, the twice-yearly switch remains. The good news is that the fall change is the easier of the two, especially if you plan ahead.
A quick checklist
- Get at least seven hours of sleep a night in the days before November 1.
- If you are well rested, push your bedtime 15 to 20 minutes later for a few nights.
- Nudge mealtimes along with your sleep schedule.
- Change your clocks Saturday evening and go to bed at your usual time.
- Keep your bedroom dark until you plan to wake up.
- Be extra careful about drowsy driving in the days that follow.
This article is for general information, not medical advice.
More on Contoh
- Daylight Saving Time Ends Nov. 1: A Quick Fall-Back Checklist
- Too Much Light at Night May Be Reshaping the Heart, Study Suggests
Sources
- Source: Daylight Saving Time (Sleep Education, American Academy of Sleep Medicine)
- Source: Falling back could leave you drowsy behind the wheel (Sleep Education, AASM)
- Source: When daylight saving time ends, 41% plan to ‘fall back’ to sleep (AASM)
- Source: Seasonal Affective Disorder (National Institute of Mental Health)