What time is it in Michigan? Daylight saving time 2024 arrives this weekend

• Michiganders will be changing their clocks early Sunday morning to spring forward an hour to daylight saving time 
• The time-change cycle has been happening since the early 1900s 
• Some medical experts support permanent standard time, saying daylight saving time can throw off one’s ‘internal clock’

It’s that time of year when clocks must “spring forward” for daylight saving time — meaning we gain more time in the sunshine but lose an hour of sleep. 

The time change occurs at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Cell phones, computers and other digital devices should update the time automatically but people with manual clocks and watches will need to physically change them.

The ongoing cycle of changing the clocks from standard time to daylight saving and back is something that most people have gotten used to — it dates back to a federal law passed in 1918 —  but Michigan lawmakers have made several efforts to end it once and for all. 

Related:

• Daylight saving 2023 arrives Sunday. Not every Michigander is happy
• Mild temps, lack of snow force Michigan ski resorts to close for the season
• Spring has already sprung for mosquitoes in Michigan

The latest attempt is by state senators Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, and Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe. They introduced a bill Thursday that would ask Michigan voters to decide whether to eliminate daylight saving time. They propose putting the question on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. 

Last year, Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, introduced a bill to get rid of the biannual time switch and stick with either daylight saving or standard time. 

Hoitenga told Bridge Michigan last year that she personally prefers standard time, but her bill would allow the state to observe one or the other year-round — so long as the U.S. Congress amends federal law to allow it.

Under her proposal, a permanent switch to daylight saving would only go into effect if Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania did the same thing.

While efforts like these have been attempted before, bills like Hoitenga’s, which was referred to the Committee on Government Operations, have never made it to the governor's desk. 

A medical perspective

Some doctors agree that changing the clocks is bad for one's health. Studies show that when people lose an hour of sleep, it can disrupt their circadian rhythm, which is the body's natural alarm clock. 

“The health consequences that can come from springing forward include cardiovascular disease, so higher risk of abnormal heart rhythm, for example,” said Dr. Anita Shelgikar, neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at U-M Health in an email to Bridge. 

“Metabolic irregularity, so impaired glucose regulation, sleep deprivation, which can influence our attention and our cognition, academic performance,  scholastic performance, driving safety. So, there are so many ways in which springing forward negatively impacts our health.”

Shelgikar said standard time should be permanent because it is more aligned with the body’s internal clock and it makes it easier to maintain a sleeping schedule. 

“I do hear a lot of people in the community say that the loss of one hour of sleep is really hard, particularly on that Monday morning but for some people even in the subsequent week or weeks that follow,” she said. 

Shelgikar recommends exposing yourself to natural sunlight as soon as you wake up and dimming the lights before bedtime to help regulate your sleep schedule.