When is daylight saving time 2023? When to spring your clocks forward this year in Missouri

It's about that time of year, Missouri. Get ready to shift your clocks ahead and say goodbye to an hour of sleep. This spring's daylight saving time — the bi-annual tradition of moving ahead an hour in the spring and moving back in the fall — is almost here. And yes, it is daylight saving time, not savings.

Here's all you need to know about the time change in Iowa, and why that supposed "permanent" daylight saving time isn't happening — yet.

When is daylight saving time 2023?

This year's daylight saving time change will take place on March 12 at 2 a.m. CT. At that time, clocks will turn ahead one hour to 3 a.m. Daylight saving time will end on Nov. 5 at 2 a.m.

Wait, wasn't daylight saving time supposed to end permanently?

In short, we could have, but we didn't.

In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act to get rid of daylight saving time and have the country remain in standard time permanently. However, passing the Senate was about all the bill got to do in its brief existence. It was not signed into law by the end of the 2022 session.

Missouri has tried something similar before, such as in 2015 when a Lamar Republican proposed making daylight saving time permanent via a constitutional amendment. But the bill was never voted on, and time changing remains the modus operandi in Missouri for now.

As of now, daylight saving time is still in play until further notice in most states. Sorry, standard time loyalists.

Which states observe daylight saving time?

Forty-eight of the 50 United States observe daylight saving time. The only states that do not are Arizona and Hawaii. Arizona hasn't observed daylight saving since 1978, and Hawaii is exempt in large part because of geography. Summer and winter don't differ much there, making daylight saving not all-that-saving in practice.

Why was daylight saving time created?

The U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees daylight saving time because of how interconnected time zones are to transportation, says that daylight saving time conserves energy. When the sun sets later, it's presumed that people will stay out longer and spend more time outside. In theory, that will lead to less energy usage from appliances.

Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea in 1784 after noticing people burning candles through the night but sleeping past dawn. However, the first national daylight saving time, set forth in a measure known as Standard Time Act, occurred in 1918 as a way to conserve coal during World War I. It took on its modern form in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act.

What are the problems with daylight saving time?

In recent years, many have argued that the cons of daylight saving time outweigh its pros. For one, some studies have shown that energy saved by conserving energy on lighting and appliances is outweighed by increased usage of air conditioning and heating.

A bigger criticism of daylight saving time, however, is what it does to sleep patterns. Changing clocks can mess with our bodies' circadian rhythm, or simply, our body clocks. The loss of an hour of sleep, disrupting the body's daily patterns, is thought to trigger symptoms of mental illnesses and lead to lethargy. These symptoms, however, are believed to fade as the body adapts to the time change.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2020 called for the United States to abolish daylight saving and switch to a permanent standard time.

Gabriela Velasquez is a planner and audience engagement specialist based out of Columbia, Mo. You can find her on Twitter @not_gabriela.

Digital producer Adam Hensley contributed.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: When does time change in Missouri? What to know about daylight saving 2023