ORLANDO, Fla. – This weekend presents a delightful opportunity for many, as we gain an extra hour of sleep with the conclusion of daylight saving time. Early Sunday morning marks the occasion when we adjust our clocks back.

While the prospect of additional rest is appealing, you might find yourself questioning, “Why do we continue this tradition of changing the clocks?”

When should we adjust our clocks?

Annually, most states, with the exception of Hawaii and Arizona, “fall back” an hour on November 2nd, signaling the end of daylight saving time.

This practice, which extends from March to November, aims to provide more daylight during the evenings throughout the warmer months. Many people favor the idea of maintaining daylight saving time throughout the year instead of reverting to standard time each autumn.

This weekend sunset will go from 6:40 p.m. on Saturday evening to 5:39 p.m. Sunday evening. And sunrises shift from 7:37 a.m. Saturday to 6:38 a.m. Sunday.

What would it look like if we stayed on Daylight Saving Time?

If we did stay on daylight saving time permanently, summer would look about the same with sunrises and sunsets staying the same.

The real difference would come in the early mornings during the winter. Without the fall time change, the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8 a.m. in the middle of the winter. We’d gain a bit more light in the evenings, but mornings would stay dark for much longer.

On the flip side, if we observed standard time all year, a lot of your summer evening activities would fall in darkness. The sun would come up much earlier, though, with the earliest sunrise at 5:27 a.m. in the middle of summer.

The latest summer sunset would be 7:27 p.m.

Is there a chance we permanently stay on Daylight Saving Time?

Florida Sen. Rick Scott introduced earlier this year the so-called “Sunshine Protection Act” which would make daylight saving time permanent.

He says Americans are “sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year. It’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that’s more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them.”

So while changing the clocks twice a year can feel inconvenient, the shift does serve a purpose. “Falling back” helps us “save” daylight in the summer while keeping winter sunrises from happening too late in the morning.