Which US states do not observe daylight savings time?

Americans will "gain" an extra hour of sleep as daylight savings time ends, except for those in Arizona and Hawaii.

On Sunday, November 5th, Americans will experience the end of daylight savings time, meaning they will gain an extra hour of sleep. At 2am, the clocks will "fall back" to standard time, a change that will remain in effect until March when daylight savings time begins again. However, there are two states, Arizona and Hawaii, that do not participate in this bi-annual clock change.

Arizona and Hawaii have chosen to remain on standard time for the past 55 years, even when the federal government attempted to make daylight savings time permanent across the entire country. These states have good reasons for their decision.

Daylight savings time was first introduced in the US in 1918 as a way to conserve energy during World War I. The idea was that by extending evening daylight hours in the winter, people would use less energy. However, after the initial introduction, states were given the option to choose whether or not they would participate in daylight savings time and which parts of the states would be affected.

In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act to establish consistency among the states by making daylight savings time a standard practice from March until November. However, Arizona and Hawaii chose to pass their own legislation to bypass this implementation.

Arizona rejected daylight savings time in 1968 because state officials believed it would be counterproductive. They argued that extending summer daylight hours into the scorching afternoon, when the climate is already at its hottest, would lead to increased energy usage as residents would need to keep their homes cool. Therefore, daylight savings time would be pointless for the state.

It is important to note that the Navajo Nation, which extends across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, does observe daylight savings time.

Hawaii, on the other hand, opted out of the Uniform Time Act in 1967 because daylight savings time would have little to no effect on the state. Due to Hawaii's proximity to the equator, the sun rises and sets around the same time every day. Adding an extra hour of daylight in the summer would not make a significant difference.

In addition to Arizona and Hawaii, several other US territories, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, do not observe daylight savings time.

In recent years, there has been a growing movement in various US states to eliminate daylight savings time altogether. This is due to concerns about its negative impact on sleep and the fact that it has only a small effect on energy conservation.

Overall, while most Americans will adjust their clocks back one hour on November 5th, residents of Arizona and Hawaii will continue on with their standard time, unaffected by the time change.