(NEXSTAR) - Most bills related to the twice-annual changing of the clocks have called for permanent standard time or for the one-hour-advanced daylight saving time. A newly-introduced bill in Congress has called for U.S. clocks to lock in the middle of that.
The Daylight Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), would set our clocks forward a half-hour from where they are now and lock them there, ending the biannual time change. So-called half-permanent daylight saving time would also make the U.S. one of the few countries that have time zones that are split on the half-hour, adjusting to "American Time."
While it would be much less drastic than switching to permanent daylight saving time, you would likely notice a difference.
What would winters look like?
Like moving forward an hour, it's the months in which we observe standard time - November into early March - that would be most impacted.
Let's say you live in New York City. In winter, the sun mostly rises after 7 a.m. and sets before 5 p.m. Under half-permanent daylight saving time, that would shift to sunrises after 7:30 a.m. and sunsets before 5:30 p.m.
Having slightly later sunsets in winter may be refreshing, especially for those driving home from work in the dark, but it's the later sunrises that cast concerns over moving our clocks forward.
Morning sunlight is important for our melatonin system, which impacts our sleep, Dr. Alaina Tiani, a clinical health psychologist who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine at the Cleveland Clinic's Sleep Disorder Center, previously told Nexstar. Standard time gives us more morning hours of daylight, while half and full daylight saving time shift those hours to evenings.
Later sunsets - after 9 p.m. in summer for some parts of the country - can also hamper our sleep cycles. It's harder to fall asleep when the sun is still out than to stay asleep through the sun rising, according to Dr. Karin Johnson, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time.
What would summers look like?
Summer sunrises and sunsets would be slightly earlier than they are now.
Let's go back to New York City. Under the current practice of full daylight saving time, the earliest summer sunrise is around 5:24 a.m., while the latest sunset is around 8:30 p.m.
Because our clocks would move forward a half-hour under the Daylight Act instead of an hour, the earliest summer sunrise in New York City would be around 4:54 a.m., while the latest sunset would be around 8:01 p.m.
The difference is smaller, sure, but it could prove better for your health.
"Medically, a half hour delay would be less harmful than a full hour delay of permanent daylight saving time and would have the benefit of ending the biannual change," Johnson told Nexstar via email last month. However, she added, it would still lead to fewer morning hours of daylight.
It could also lead to "the confusion of trying to sync schedules that are offset by a half hour."
New York City is, at present, five hours behind London. Under "American Time," it would shift to four hours and 30 minutes behind London. That may not be a huge deal if you aren't involved in international business, communications, or travel, but it could prove challenging for border communities.
Let's say you're visiting Niagara Falls, standing on the U.S. side, at 4:30 p.m. Across the waterway, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, it would only be 4 p.m. Keeping track of the time could become more complicated than remembering that your REAL ID can't help you get across the border.
Without action by Congress this year, either on the Daylight Act or the other related legislation that has been introduced, our clocks will jump ahead on March 8 as daylight saving time kicks in and fall back an hour on Nov. 1 when it ends.