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”.

In 2025, the start of Daylight Saving Time in most of the United States, including Columbus, Ohio, would be on March 9, and it will end on November 2.

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.

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 It has even been enacted and repealed in the US until the Uniform Time Act in 1966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 (not recommended if you have to be somewhere on time that day!)

-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

Burger King Breakfast Deals during time change week

Special breakfast deals from March 9-15 for Royal Perks members. 

• 3/9: Free Croissan’wich with the purchase of $1 or more.
• 3/10: Free 4-Piece Churro Fries with the purchase of $1 or more.
• 3/11: Free Medium Iced Coffee with the purchase of $1 or more.
• 3/12: Free 5-Piece French Toast Sticks with the purchase of $1 or more.
• 3/13: Free Large Hash Browns with the purchase of $1 or more.
• National Pi Day – 3/14: Free Hershey Pie with the purchase of $3.14 (again, the first three numbers of Pi) or more.
• 3/15: Free Sausage Biscuit with the purchase of $1 or more.

Wendy’s Daylight Savings deals

From March 10-14, Wendy’s has some in-app deals in honor of daylight saving time. The following offers are valid at participating U.S. Wendy’s locations during breakfast hours:

• Breakfast sandwich for $2 with purchase.
• $2 off any breakfast combo.
• $0.99 for a small coffee with any purchase.

Dunkin’ and Grubhub

March 9-10: Grubhub customers can get a free Dunkin’ coffee with any Grubhub order of $15 or more while supplies last. The single-use offer is valid on Grubhub and Seamless at participating Dunkin’ locations.

Deals can be found each day in the app.