Love it or hate it, the time is here to switch the clocks. 

Saturday night, into Sunday morning we will roll the clocks back one hour.

Daylight saving time was started during WWI, as a way to conserve energy.  It became law in the U.S. in the 1960s, and has sparked debate ever since. 

“I absolutely love having that extra hour in the morning.  And, it doesn’t bother me at night, driving home in the dark. I actually find it quite soothing,” said Kerry Schnell, of Morrisonville.  

Mimi Christman, of Plattsburgh, said, “My daughter is 9, she’s in third grade,  She’s not going to be too excited.”

Nationally, 19 states have pushed to stop the clock switching madness, but the federal government has not yet acted on the issue.   A bill that would make saving time permanent passed the US Senate, but has stalled in the House. 

“The daylight savings thing?  Oh my gosh, I think we should get rid of it,” said Christman. 

According to the American Psychiatric Association, roughly 1 in 5 people polled say the daylight saving time change has impacted their mental health negatively.      

“Especially early on in daylight saving time, the days can feel a lot shorter.  You’re waking up in the morning.  It’s still dark outside.  And, we know that when it gets darker earlier, that melatonin, more melatonin is released from the brain that can cause us to feel more tired and sluggish, and that can contribute to us feeling depressed, as well,” said Gregory Scott Brown, M.D., author of The Self Healing Mind.    

This is also a great weekend to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.