As daylight saving time approaches, most Americans say they're ready to end it
The switch to daylight saving time (DST) is approaching this week, with the clocks set to "spring forward" again on Sunday, March 9.
A new poll from Gallup found Americans’ opinions about daylight saving time have shifted dramatically in the last couple of decades.
Ending daylight saving time
The backstory:
Every year there’s talk about ending the time change.
In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump promised to eliminate daylight saving time.
For the last several years, a bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent has stalled in Congress; it has been reintroduced this year.
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The other side:
DST allows for sunnier evenings over the spring and summer. The practice started in the U.S. in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel.
What Americans say
FILE - Aerial shot of a housing development bordering farmland in Maricopa, Arizona at sunset. Getty Images
By the numbers:
The majority of Americans, 54%, say they are ready to do away with the practice.
Big picture view:
This is according to a poll run by Gallup from January 21-27, 2025.
Dig deeper:
This was the first time Gallup asked Americans their opinions about daylight savings time since 1999, and found that views about the practice have shifted dramatically over the last 26 years.
In 1999, 73% favored daylight saving time, similar to the 74% who did so in a 1990 poll.
Now, only 40% of Americans favor DST.
Support for Daylight Saving Time
Americans’ support for daylight saving time has fluctuated over the years.
Daylight saving time vs. standard time
If daylight saving time is eliminated, the question remains of which clock America would adapt: daylight saving time or standard time.
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What they're saying:
Americans most commonly said they’d prefer keeping standard time the whole year (48%), even if it meant losing sunlight in the summertime.
The American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine agrees and says sticking with standard time year-round aligns better with the sun — and human biology — for more consistent sleep.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from a Gallup telephone interview conducted Jan. 21-27, 2025, among 1,001 adults aged 18 and older living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Background information about daylight saving time was taken from previous FOX Television Station reportings and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.