Life

When Do You Change The Clocks Back For DST?

by Chelsey Grasso
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Very soon, we'll all be getting to indulge in an extra hour of sleep thanks to the end of Daylight Savings Time — but when? If you're not sure of the answer to that question, you should probably read on, because this is important: what time do you change the clocks for Daylight Savings Time? After all, you don't want to be the person who shows up to work an hour early on Monday morning. That's just the worst, isn't it?

I don't know about you, but I always look forward to changing the clocks, both forwards and backwards. I love the longer days of summer, so I'm willing to make the sacrifice and lose an hour of sleep for the cause, but I also love taking advantage of that same lost hour come the fall, because really, who doesn't love to catch some extra shut-eye?

All that being said, if you don't know when exactly the clock change happens, then you might miss out on that extra hour of sleep you could be getting and that first day of evening sun you could be enjoying, so it's time to educate yourself. Find all the relevant facts you need to know below, as well as some other interesting info that will keep you well-informed and feeling beyond knowledgeable.

When Do We Set Back The Clocks?

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Mark your calendars, because we set the clocks back on Nov. 6, 2016 at 2 a.m. local time. Live Science lists the reason for the 2 a.m. clock change as being a time when most people are home and few bars or restaurants will be affected by it in the moment. Additionally, it's more easily understandable than a midnight clock change, which might lead some people to setting their clocks back a day too late.

Why Do We Set Back The Clocks?

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According to Wonderopolis, the changes in time have to do with making the most out of daylight hours. Since there are more hours of sunlight in the summer, by "springing" forward the clocks in the spring, we move an extra hour of daylight to the evening (having taken it from the morning). We "fall back" in the late fall to essentially bring our clocks back to standard time.

When Will We Set The Clocks Forward?

We won't be setting the clocks forward again until Mar. 12, 2017 at 2 a.m., so you've got about four months to revel in the time change. While we don't gain any extra daylight hours in the evening by setting our clocks back, we do get to enjoy an extra hour of sleep, which is never something to complain about. Come March, we'll have to give that hour up by setting the clocks ahead by an hour.

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