Fall Back Without the Crash: What the End of Daylight Saving Time Does to You
Clocks go back at 2 a.m. on November 1, and most Americans gain an hour
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when clocks fall back one hour to 1 a.m. and most of the country returns to standard time. People living in most of Arizona and Hawaii will not change anything, since those states do not observe the switch. Daylight saving time is scheduled to begin again on Sunday, March 14, 2027, unless Congress changes the law first.
Doctors say falling back is the easy direction, but it still moves your body clock
"While springing forward disrupts your circadian rhythm more than falling back, any one-hour shift of the clock can alter your body's sleep-wake schedule," said Dr. David Kuhlmann, a sleep medicine director and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation. "Chronically sleep deprived people are among the most impacted by the circadian misalignment caused by the time switch." Sleep specialist Dr. Ruchir P. Patel adds that the human circadian rhythm runs slightly longer than 24 hours, so moving clocks backward feels more natural to our internal clocks.
Shift bedtime 15 to 20 minutes later each night starting around October 28
The top move according to basically every sleep expert interviewed: do not swallow the full hour in one gulp. "Beginning approximately three or four days before Nov. 1, go to bed and wake up 15 to 20 minutes later each day," Patel says. "By Sunday, your circadian rhythm is already close to a new time." Get bright morning light after the change, keep mealtimes steady, and resist spending the bonus hour staying up late, which is what makes Monday rough.
