Contrary to popular opinion, daylight saving time doesn't last for half the year. Rather, it stretches approximately eight months and will come to an end on Sunday, Nov. 1. It's been that way since 2007, when Congress declared that daylight saving time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
The observance is often misidentified as "daylight savings time" with an extra "S," but its name comes from the idea of saving daylight. Click here for more facts about daylight saving time.
Fast facts about daylight saving time
That being said, daylight saving time isn't observed the same way -- or at all -- in some parts of the country. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized time zones and daylight saving practices around the United States, but it allowed individual states to pass laws exempting themselves. Click here to learn more about places in the country where you don't have to fall back or spring forward.
States with no daylight saving time: Where you don't have to fall back or spring forward
If you're not in one of those places, the spring forward can be an especially difficult one when you lose an hour of sleep. Click here to find out how to help your body make the adjustment to the new light-dark cycle and how to make sure you get a good night's sleep every night of the year.