Does Nebraska want to eliminate daylight saving time?

If you struggled to wake up this morning, know you were not alone.

The clocks in most U.S. states jumped ahead by an hour over the weekend with the return of daylight saving time, meaning millions of people lost an hour of sleep. The time change will remain until November when standard time returns.

Two states – Hawaii and Arizona – don’t observe daylight saving time, and many other states have considered legislation to either get rid of it or make it permanent, including Nebraska.

The loss of an hour of sleep can have real-world consequences, said Aric Prather, a psychiatry professor at the University of California San Francisco who specializes in treating people with sleep disorders.

Prather said “Sleepy Monday” – the Monday after daylight saving time begins – is associated with an increase in fatal car crashes and hospital admissions for heart attacks, and even harsher sentences from judges.

More than half of U.S. adults say they’re ready to do away with daylight saving time, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January.

Here’s what you need to know about daylight saving time and efforts to get rid of it.

What is daylight saving time?

This year, daylight saving time began March 9, when most people in the U.S. adjusted their clocks ahead by an hour. It lasts until Nov. 2 this year, when clocks will go back an hour.

In the spring and summer, the time adjustment means more daylight during the evenings.

Does Nebraska want to eliminate daylight saving time?

Nebraska lawmakers are considering two competing pieces of legislation – one that would get rid of daylight saving time and another that would make it permanent.

Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent from Omaha, introduced the bill that would make daylight saving time permanent.

“It’s a better thing for the economy,” Hunt told the Nebraska Examiner. “It’s a better thing for things like seasonal depression and just kind of the winter blues that you get when you don’t have any sunlight.”

But Sen. Kathleen Kauth, a Republican from the Millard area, argued the change to permanent standard time would be better from a public health perspective.

“Daylight saving time increases the risk to our physical health, mental well-being and public safety,” Kauth said. “Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety.”

Both bills require at least some neighboring states to adopt similar laws. 

• To make daylight saving time permanent, three adjacent states would need to approve a single year-round time standard. 
• To eliminate daylight saving time, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming would need to pass legislation for standard time all year.

Federal law currently doesn’t allow states to adopt permanent daylight saving time, though it does allow permanent standard time, USA TODAY reported.

Does Donald Trump want to end daylight saving time?

In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that “the Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight saving time.”

However, since Trump returned to office for his second term, he hasn’t issued any executive orders, nor has there been any major push by Congress, which has a narrow Republican majority, to take action on the issue, USA TODAY reported.