When is daylight savings time? Plus some special deals to perk you up

Everyone has an opinion on Daylight Saving Time – in many cases negative. There are also a lot of questions surrounding the “time change”, such as “when is daylight savings time” and “why oh why do we have the time change”.

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Many people struggle adjusting their internal clocks after daylight savings time for the first couple of days, or weeks. Bonus: there are some daylight savings deals to soften the blow. 

And if you have pets, babies, and young children in the home, it can make your mornings VERY hard for the first couple of weeks after a time change. You can’t just tell a baby or dog that it’s not time to get up.

Jump to: Deals for Daylight Savings Time

When is daylight saving time?

For most of the US, the time change happens twice a year – Spring and Fall. As the saying goes “Spring ahead, Fall behind”.

Daylight Savings Time starts in the Spring, when you “lose” an hour, but gain daylight (after a long dark winter). In the Fall – Standard Time- you “gain” an hour, but lose daylight – where it eventually is dark by about 5:30 pm.

While I’ve always thought of it as something that happens twice a year, it’s actually more like a season with a beginning and and end.

Daylight Saving Time typically starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

In 2024, the start of Daylight Saving Time in most of the United States, including Columbus, Ohio, would be on March 10, and it will end on November 3.

Why do we have daylight saving time?

Growing up in the country, the time change was always explained to me that it was a benefit to the farming community. Shifting the time during the growing season gave farmers more daylight to work with, especially in times before tractors had lights on them.

Officially, Daylight Saving Time was introduced during World War I to conserve fuel and resources, and make efficient use of daylight and energy. 

Germany was the first country to implement DST in 1916, followed by other European nations and the United States. Since then, some countries and regions have discontinued the practice. It has even been enacted and repealed in the US until the Uniform Time Act in 1966

Law changes for Daylight Saving time

While polls have shown that the majority of Americans prefer Daylight Savings Time, getting the law changed isn’t that easy.

Under the Uniform Time Act, states can choose whether or not they observe Daylight Savings Time (Hawaii and parts of Arizona do not), but they can’t make Daylight Savings time permanent without a Federal law change.

There have been many state proposals to either permanently adopt Daylight Savings Time permanently, but without the approval of Congress, the change cannot be made.

The main criticism against permanently adopting daylight savings time is children having to walk to school or or wait for the bus in the early morning dark. 

Thus far, the agreement can’t be made on whether extra light is more important in the morning, or the evening. Many sleep experts and medical professionals support Standard time, believing that morning light is more important to health and circadian rhythm. Whereas tourism and entertainment industry would rather people have more light in the evening to enjoy outdoor activities for longer.

 Unfortunately for now, my dog’s tummy grumbles an hour earlier in the fall, and that determines wake-up time in our house.

How to adjust to a time change

Some people seem to adapt pretty quickly to time changes, while others suffer for weeks (or longer) while their internal clock adjusts. Tips that may help include: 

–Shift your meal and sleep schedule by 15-20 minutes in the days leading up to daylight savings time

-Move your clock ahead on Saturday in the afternoon or evening – which means you’ll go to bed an hour early, instead of losing an hour of sleep

-Don’t sleep in on Sunday. Try to stick to your normal weekday wakeup time, in order to make Monday a little easier. It’s better to wake up and take a short late morning nap if needed (as long as that won’t affect your fall asleep time that night)

-Go outside when it’s light out in the morning. Experts suggest this can help reset your circadian rhythm

-Don’t overdo caffeine or brunch cocktails. You’ll technically be going to sleep an hour earlier on Sunday night, and caffiene and alcohol may affect falling asleep

-Give yourself (and your kids) some grace that first week. Keep extra activities to a minimum for that first week. It’s not the best week to plan to deep clean the house, start 75 Hard, or a strict diet. 

My own personal tip:

DO NOT take advantage of the extra hour at the bar. Since daylight savings time doesn’t start until 2 am, most bars that typically stay open until 2 am can choose whether they following the change or not. 

Deals for Daylight Savings Time

The time change isn’t all for loss. There are some Daylight Savings Time deals to make your morning a littler easier (or less annoyed). Honestly, if every coffee shop isn’t offering a special deal, I think they are missing out on an opportunity!

pixabay: jarmoluk

Deals for Daylight Savings Time

Wendy’s Daylight Savings Time deals

Order breakfast in the app! Wendy’s has rolled out multiple in-app offers to make the time change less painful and more tasty.

• Free hot coffee, cold coffee or Frosty Cream Cold Brew with a purchase of $3 or more through the Wendy’s app (exp 3/31)
• $3 breakfast sandwiches during breakfast hours (6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.) These normally range from $4.50 and $7 (exp 3/17)
• BOGO Breakfast Baconator (exp 3/10)
• $1.49 Large Seasoned Potatoes (exp 3/17)
• $1 4-piece French Toast Sticks with purchase (exp 3/31)
• $2 off any breakfast combo (exp 4/7)
• $0 delivery fee with in-app delivery order of $15+

Burger King Breakfast Deals during time change week

Special breakfast deals from March 10-16 for Royal Perks members. 

• Free Croissan’wich with a purchase of $1+ on Sunday, March 10
• Free 5-piece French Toast Sticks with a $1+ purchase on Monday, March 11
• Free bottle of Simply OJ with a $1+ purchase on Tuesday, March 12
• Large Hash Browns with a $1+ purchase on Wednesday, March 13
• Free Hershey’s Sundae Pie with a $3.14+ purchase on Thursday, March 14 (it’s Pi Day!)
• Free large Vanilla Iced Coffee with a $1+ purchase on Friday, March 15
• Free Sausage Biscuit with a $1+ purchase on Saturday, March 16

Deals can be found each day in the app.

White Castle

Free dessert on a stick on Monday, March 10 (no purchase necessary) for daylight saving time and the chain’s 100th birthday. Details here. 

7-Eleven®, Speedway® and Stripes® stores

FREE can of International Delight REESE’S Iced Coffee: On March 10-11, grab a free can of this new flavor, redeemable while supplies last via a coupon on the 7Rewards® and Speedy Rewards® apps.

The coupon will become available starting March 10. The offer is limited to one per customer and void where prohibited. See press release.

Grubhub/Dunkin’ for Daylight Savings

Free coffee with purchase. Place a Dunkin’ order of $20 or more through Grubhub on March 10 and get a free coffee value up to $7. 

Taco Bell Breakfast offer

$2 Breakfast Crunchwrap on March 10, via the app. 

CVS/Grubhub Daylight Savings Essentials

Free Daylight Savings Essential item with delivery order of $20 or more, from March 9 to March 13. Order from CVS Pharmacy on Grubhub and get a free item from an assortment of Daylight Saving Essentials with delivery orders of $20 or more.

Find the Daylight Saving Essentials as a special menu category from CVS on Grubhub featuring energy-boosting must-haves including coffee, protein bars, tea, supplements and more. The discount will automatically be applied at checkout.

Customers who are members of Grubhub+ will get access to $0 delivery fees on eligible orders from CVS Pharmacy. Details.