Get ready for an extra hour of sleep. Here’s when daylight saving time ends in IL
Illinois residents will soon gain an hour when they set their clocks back at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 for the end of daylight saving time, which began in March.
By early November, the sun will set before 5 p.m. over Belleville.
After an abnormally dry period that may affect this year’s fall foliage, Belleville has several days of rain in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service St. Louis office.
The NWS’ Climate Prediction Center reports the metro-east has a 33 to 40% chance of seeing above-normal temperatures from October to December, while the popular Farmers’ Almanac predicts a cooler autumn.
Lawmakers in the Land of Lincoln have introduced many bills aiming to end clock-changing, and U.S. senators have tried, too. Here’s what to know about the state of daylight saving time in Illinois.
Daylight saving time legislation in Illinois
Bills relating to daylight saving time often circulate the Illinois legislature. One example is House Bill 1400, which would establish permanent daylight saving time in the Land of Lincoln.
Some previous efforts against clock-changing have taken a different approach, however, such as House Bill 3321, which aimed to exempt the state from required daylight saving time.
H.B. 1400 was filed in January and its last action was a re-referral to the Rules Committee in March, while H.B. 3321 was introduced in 2021 and died in 2023 when the 102nd General Assembly adjourned.
These recent bills are far from the only effort to end clock-changing in Illinois, and the U.S. Senate has introduced similar legislation for the nation. So far, Hawaii and Arizona are the only states in the country that don’t observe daylight saving time, and the Navajo Nation portion of Arizona does practice daylight saving.
The history of daylight saving
Daylight saving time was made a legal requirement by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports.
State governments cannot independently change time zones or the length of daylight saving time, the department reports, but they can exempt themselves from the practice.
“States do not have the authority to choose to be on permanent Daylight Saving Time,” the U.S. Department of Transportation website reads.
Next year’s daylight saving time will begin Sunday, March 8, 2026.
How does daylight saving affect sleep?
While Illinois residents will gain an hour Nov. 2, the time change might not actually translate to more sleep.
Only “a minority of people” actually get an extra hour of sleep on the fall night when daylight saving time ends, according to a 2020 article from Harvard Health Publishing.
“During the following week, many people wake up earlier, have more trouble falling asleep, and are more likely to wake up during the night,” the article reads.
The end of daylight saving time has also been linked to other issues, such as increased collisions with deer, a 2022 article published by Current Biology reports.
While you might be less well-rested when the time changes this November, an Oct. 30, 2024, article from Mass General Brigham offers tips on how to reduce sleep loss:
- Try going to bed and waking up a little bit earlier on the few nights leading up to the time change.
- Avoid consuming caffeine after 2 or 3 p.m.
- Consider eating dinner an hour earlier for a few days.
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This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 4:45 AM.
