Montana’s Important Fall 2023 Time Change Information
Autumn in Montana is officially on it's way. The "Autumnal Equinox" will be happening in the Northern Hemisphere on September 23rd. That will mean we are heading towards losing daylight every day until the Winter Solstice happens in December. It will also mean in Montana we will be turning out clocks back an hour.
Montana's Time Change Sunday, November 5th
Montana's time change is Sunday, November 5th at 2:00am from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. These days most clocks on computers and mobile devices automatically change. But, there is always one or two that I have to figure out twice a year how to manually adjust.
Montanans Still Need To Change Our Clocks, For Now
One of these day in Montana we may stay in Daylight Saving Time for good. In 2021 Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 254 into law. This would keep Montana in Daylight Saving Time if Congress or if the U.S. Department of Transportation approves. That hasn't happened yet. Maybe one day.
Changing Our Clocks Isn't Healthy
Until that happens we will continue to change our clocks twice a year. One of the issues when we need to change to Daylight Saving Time in the spring, is it can be deadly. According to Cardiogram.com, the risk of heart attacks increase.
One of the most dangerous impacts daylight savings has on our bodies is how significantly it increases risk of heart attack. A New England Journal of Medicine study showed that there’s up to a 24% increase in risk of heart attack on the Monday after the spring time change.
That's not all, according to the American Economic Journal, there is a spike in fatal vehicle crashes on the Monday following changing our clocks to Daylight Saving Time.
Time Change Reminders
Here are a couple reminders to help you with the time change.
- "Spring Forward," change your clock ahead to Daylight Saving Time.
- "Fall Back", change your clock back to Standard Time.
- Daylight Saving Time is not plural.
I have said for many years that it doesn't matter to me if we stay on Standard Time or if we stay on Daylight Saving Time, let's just stay on one of them.