Daylight saving time ends this weekend. Here’s what to know.

It’s that time of year again when Americans around the country (with the exceptions of Arizona and Hawaii) get an extra hour of sleep when they set their clocks back to standard time. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, the clocks will “fall back” to 1 a.m. Yes, you gain that hour, but for many, the downside is that it’s already starting to get dark by the time you leave work.

Here are some facts about daylight saving time that you might want to know.

There’s a common myth that daylight saving somehow benefits farmers. That’s not the case.

The true origins of daylight saving time began in World Wars I and II as a way to conserve energy, according to the American Farm Bureau. The thinking was that if there were an extra hour of sunlight in the evening, Americans would use less energy.

Switching between standard and daylight saving time became permanent in 1966 with the Uniform Time Act, with states having the option to drop out. Arizona and Hawaii are the only ones on standard time year-round.

For farmers like Jeff Pagel in Eyota, Minn., the time change has the same impact on just about everyone and is of no particular benefit to his business.

“As far as taking care of the cows and that kind of thing, it doesn’t really change too much,” he said. “The cows are used to a routine similar to us. So it takes us a day or two to get that adjustment made and back to reality again, and the cows are kind of the same way.”

If doctors had the choice between daylight saving time or standard time, they’d choose standard time, according to University of Minnesota assistant professor Dr. Akinbolaji Akingbola.

“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”

Akingbola acknowledges it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.

Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight saving time permanent.

Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight saving time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.

The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight saving year-round.

A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight saving time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.

Permanent daylight saving time was so unpopular that Congress decided to reverse its decision later that year, and we’ve been switching between standard and daylight saving time ever since.

Leo Pomerenke is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Minnesota Star Tribune.