When is the best time to change the clock? Here’s your final warning

It’s time to change the time this weekend.

Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov 2. But unless you’re a night hawk or have insomnia, time will pass you by if you aren’t prepared.

So, here’s a tip: Change the hands of time before you go to sleep on Saturday night, Nov. 1.

We all know that your phone and computer will automatically update. But your microwave, oven range, car clock, grandfather clock and watch will be stuck in time if you don’t manually set them straight.

The good news: We’ll all gain an hour of sleep. The bad news: We’ll lose it again next spring.

MORE: A time change is coming soon to South Florida. How that could affect your health

Here’s what else to know about the return to Eastern Standard Time, including how light and dark it will be in the morning and evening (yes, it will be darker earlier in the evening):

What’s the fallout in the morning and evening?

Sunrise and sunset times in Miami when we change the clock:

When we move the clocks forward at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, sunrise in Miami will be at 6:30 a.m. and sunset will be at 5:38 p.m.

Monthly sunrise and sunset times in Miami until next March:

• Dec. 2: 6:51 a.m. sunrise, 5:29 p.m. sunset
• Jan. 2: 7:08 a.m. sunrise, 5:42 p.m. sunset
• Feb. 2: 7:04 a.m. sunrise, 6:05 p.m. sunsetMarch 2: 6:43 a.m. sunrise, 6:23 p.m. sunset

When does time move?

Standard time in 2025 starts at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, when clocks will turn back one hour.

In 2026, daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 8.

Why do we tinker with the clock?

Saving energy: Daylight saving time is all about a desire to save energy by extending sunlight later in the day during spring and summer. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy found that the four-week extension of daylight saving time in 2008 saved about 0.5% of the nation’s electricity per day, or 1.3 trillion watt-hours —which is enough to power 100,000 households for an entire year.

Safety: Studies have also shown that the extra hour of daylight has resulted in safer roads, lower crime rates and economic benefits.

Opposition: Critics, however, say additional dark mornings could lead to grogginess for commuters and parents who drive their children to school, especially in the winter months.

Disruptions: Other concerns about daylight saving time included disruptions to harvesting schedules for farmers, interference with religious observances based on solar and lunar time, and potential delays in reworking computer systems programmed to switch twice a year.

What are the origins and opposition to the time change?

The start: One of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, is often credited with the daylight saving time idea. Franklin wrote a 1784 essay about it as a way to conserve the need for lamp oil, while New Zealand entomologist George Hudson came up with the modern-day concept in 1895, so he had more daylight to look for bugs.

Wartime: But the idea didn’t gain traction among U.S. lawmakers until World War I, and then in World War II as a wartime measure. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 made the change in time an annual passage throughout the country.

School: And while proponents want to stop changing the clocks twice a year, opponents — mainly parents and teachers — argue that a permanent daylight saving time means darker mornings and increased safety risks for children heading to school, whether it’s new teen drivers on the road or students walking to a bus stop or nearby school.