The bulk of U.S. citizens will follow a century-old ritual this weekend when they turn their clocks back an hour as part of fall daylight saving time (with clocks moving forward each March). .

This biannual event takes place in the UNITED STATES on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November with the aim of taking advantage of the extended hours of sunshine, this measure being a way of saving energy and also a way of reducing crime and road accidents. However, over the years, a growing number of critics say the changes have an impact on people’s health that outweighs the benefits.

U.S. states and territories that do not participate in DST

However, not all U.S. citizens will benefit from an extra hour of sleep when Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins this Sunday, while residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa do not participate in the initiative.

Arizona experimented with the change starting in 1918, but decided to opt out of DST permanently in 1968, with the state arguing that its high temperatures actually led to increased energy consumption during daylight saving timeas people sought to keep living and working spaces cool. Although Arizona observes standard time, Navajo Nationa Native American territory in the northeast of the state that also extends into New Mexico and Utah, jet-shifts twice a year.

Which nations don’t change their clocks

Outside of the United States, several countries do not implement DST and in Europe they include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia and Türkiye.

Daylight saving time is mainly used in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. Egypt being the only African country and Chile the only South American country to use DST. Daylight saving time is not used by any country in Asia.

As previously cited, many experts claim that time changes are detrimental to people’s health, according to experts in many parts of the world. divided over the potential environmental benefits of the highly controversial issue of time change.