Daylight Saving Time 2016: Know When, Where, And Why To Turn Your Clocks And Fall Back This Weekend

Each and every year, millions of people look forward to a particular day in November, and it really has nothing to do with the holiday season. Some may find it to be annoying or senseless, while others find it to be more of a gift. This weekend brings that particular day, and it is Daylight Saving Time 2016, which will have you turning your clocks in reverse to “fall back” one hour.

Daylight Saving Time typically falls on a weekend and doesn’t cause havoc with the hours of many in the workforce. It can be more problematic for the “spring forward” in March, but it’s not like people want to show up an hour early to work either.

No matter what, you need to know some things about Daylight Saving Time (DST) 2016 to keep up with everyone else. So, here is when, where, and why to turn your clocks back this weekend.

1. When do clocks need to be changed?

This is quite easily one of the simplest things to understand about this whole process, but its extremely important to know. Daylight Saving Time will have you fall back in 2016 in the middle of the night between Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

At 2 a.m. on November 6, 2016, your clocks will need to be turned back to go to 1 a.m. So, set them back early on Saturday or do it first thing on Sunday. You won’t have to spring forward again until March 12, 2017.

2. Do all states in the nation take part in Daylight Saving Time?

Most states observe Daylight Saving Time, but ABC News reports that the majority of Arizona doesn’t take part in it, and Hawaii doesn’t at all. For around 40 years, Arizona hasn’t changed their clocks each year, and it has a lot to do with the weather.

There are some other areas that don’t observe or participate in DST, and they are U.S. territories the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and American Samoa. A number of other states have attempted to pass bills to end it, but they’ve failed each time and are still involved.

3. Who actually came up with the idea of Daylight Saving Time and why?

As Time and Date pointed out, Daylight Saving Time was something that came out of the brilliant mind of Benjamin Franklin. He wrote an essay called “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” and decided to help the community in a rather tongue-in-cheek way.

He suggested that people get up earlier to make better use of the available light, and doing this would help save money on candle wax. Knowing his usual call to intelligence, people took Franklin’s suggestion seriously, and thus Daylight Saving Time was born.

Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend. Don’t forget to ‘Fall Back’ Saturday night/Sunday morning. pic.twitter.com/hBXDVV6fo6

— Wright State Univ. (@wrightstate) November 4, 2016

William Willett really got it going in 1905 when he introduced British Summer Time or Daylight Saving Time. He suggested that people set their clocks ahead 20 minutes on each of the four Sundays in the month of April. In return, they would set them back the same way in September.

That added up to eight different time changes in a year, but in time, it was brought down to just two.

4. How do you say it properly?

This is honestly something that a lot of people don’t even realize is an issue, but social media has brought a lot of attention to it.

Daylight Savings Time – WRONG

Daylight Saving Time – RIGHT

There is no “s” on the end of the word “Saving.” Also, you may see the abbreviation of “DST” mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, and now you’ll know what everyone is referring to.

5. What effect will Daylight Saving Time have on me?

When it all boils down to it, that is something that truly depends on the age of a person, their eating schedule, their sleeping schedule, and even their work schedule. Older people may end up struggling more with the time change, but it could have an effect on virtually everyone.

You never really know just how much of an effect that falling back an hour can have on you until a couple of days have passed. By that point, you’ll likely adjust to the difference and get back to your regular schedule. The extra hour of sleep is nice, but your routine is likely going to suffer for a day or two.

6. Is Daylight Saving Time really an energy saver?

So many people say that Daylight Saving Time is done to save energy and help the world in many ways. Live Science reports that research is on the fence about all this, and no one honestly knows if DST saves energy at all.

Daylight Saving Time 2016 is quickly approaching, and this weekend will be the “fall back” portion of the annual occurrence. Earlier this year, it was time to “spring forward” as most of the United States lost an hour, but it’s time to gain it back. Don’t forget to set your clocks before you go to bed on Saturday night or as soon as you wake up on Sunday. Even with it happening on a weekend, Daylight Saving Time could cause you to be super early to work on Monday.

[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]