Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time Begins

It's time to "spring forward."

At 2 a.m. on Sunday (or whenever we woke up), we moved our clocks ahead 60 minutes—and losing an hour of sleep—for daylight saving time. The good news: Sunset will be an hour later.

We used to spring forward on the first Sunday in April and "fall back" on the last Sunday in October, but a few years ago, Congress changed the dates—adding more daylight saving time to the calendar. This year, daylight saving runs from March 11 until Nov. 4, when we set clocks back one hour.

Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe daylight saving time, but around the world, about 75 countries and territories have at least one location that does, according to TimeandDate.com. On the other hand, 164 don't observe the time change at all.

Brief History:

According to The Huffington Post:

"Benjamin Franklin has been credited with the idea of daylight saving time, but Britain and Germany began using the concept in World War I to conserve energy, The Washington Post observes. The U.S. used daylight saving time for a brief time during the war, but it didn't become widely accepted in the States until after the second World War.

"In 1966, the Uniform Time Act outlined that clocks should be set forward on the last Sunday in April and set back the last Sunday in October.

"That law was amended in 1986 to start daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April. Though, the new system wasn't implemented until 1987. The end date was not changed, however, and remained the last Sunday in October until 2006.

"Today, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The time change will precede the vernal equinox (first day of spring), which takes place at 1:14 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, March 20."

This article originally appeared on the Waukesha Patch.

Do you think March 11 is "springing ahead" too early? Tell us in the comments.