(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — Like most people, you may be tired from losing an hour of sleep over the weekend and you may be thinking to yourself, ‘why did we have to spring forward?’ It actually goes back further than you may think and we may keep the time change around for good.

Let’s dive into how Daylight Saving Time (DST) got started.

Daylight Saving Time History

Many people think DST was created for farmers to give more daylight throughout the day, but that is not correct.  

DST was first introduced in the United States in 1918 during World War I. 

The time change was introduced as a way of saving resources and energy during the war and as a way to get people away from using artificial light and coal in their homes. It was unpopular and abolished after World War I.

On Feb. 9, 1942, Franklin Roosevelt instituted a year-round DST, which he called “war time.” This lasted until Sept. 30, 1945.

DST didn’t become standard until the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated standard time across the country within established time zones.

The act stated that clocks would advance one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in April and turn back one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.

The majority of states still use DST, but only two states do not, which are Arizona and Hawaii.

Will other states make the change?

More states may be jumping on board with keeping DST for good and not “falling back” in the fall.

A few states including Colorado have passed laws that would keep DST permanently once the federal law is updated.

But like Colorado, legally, these states cannot adopt daylight time permanently until the federal government allows it.

This is because the federal law that started it — the Uniform Time Act of 1966 — only allows states to opt out of the program and does not let them permanently opt in.

The Sunshine Protection Act would help with this.

The act would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year, starting in 2023. The move would essentially eliminate standard time, which is what many states switch to during winter months.

It still needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden before it is approved.

If it passes, this time change we are in would be the last.

But what does that mean for sunrises in the winter as this is usually the time to have earlier sunrises and later sunsets?

Simply put, it means later sunrises year-round and morning commutes, especially in the winter, would be darker.

In Colorado, the latest sunrise we would see would happen between 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Would you be a fan of the later sunrises? We may see the whole country jumping on board sooner than you think.