Idaho, Daylight Saving Time’s Arrival Will Be Its Earliest in Five Years

☀️ The twice a year time switch has negative effects on mental health, vision

☀️ The time change has only taken place on the second Sunday of March since 2007

☀️ A new bill to end Daylight Saving Time in Idaho was introduced on February 4, 2025

As we’re sitting down to write this, there are snowflakes falling outside our living room window in Southeast Boise. While finally having a snow day was fun, we’re ready for warmer and brighter days! 

READ MORE: Idaho Cities With the Most Sunny Days 

You know from experience that driving to work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark can do a number on your mental health. Healthline confirms that falling back an hour in the fall leads to an increase in depressive episodes thanks to shorter, darker, colder days. 

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For drivers with astigmatism in one or both eyes, the fall return of Standard Time may impact their daily routines. According to the Cleveland Clinic people living with astigmatism usually have a cornea that’s more oblong in shape, like a football, than round. The condition can cause eye strain, headaches, squinting and most annoyingly, blurry vision and halos around lights. Those last two are more noticeable while driving at night. 

The way astigmatism affects night vision can vary from person to person, we can say from experience that after the time changes in the fall, once we’re home for the evening, that’s it. We don’t want to drive again until we have to. That’s why we’ll often lean on our spouse or friends to drive to after dark social events. 

Daylight Saving Time Arrives on Earliest Date in Five Years

Luckily, we’re closing in on the end of Standard Time. Daylight Saving Time arrives on March 9, 2025. That’s the earliest date in the past five years! Here’s a look the immediate impact the switch has across the state of Idaho. 

Since 2007, Daylight Saving Time has begun on the second Sunday in March, which means that the absolute earliest it will ever begin (provided we keep doing this clock switching routine) is March 8. 

Idaho Tries to Eliminate Daylight Saving Time…Again

On February 4, 2025, Idaho Representative Joe Alfieri of Coeur d’ Alene introduced House Bill 140 that would exempt both the parts of Idaho in the Mountain Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone from making the spring switch to Daylight Saving Time. 

The change in the Mountain Time Zone would only happen if the part of Oregon in the Mountain Time Zone also decides to stay on Standard Time. The change in the part of Idaho in the Pacific Time Zone would only happen if Washington decides to stay on Standard Time.

The bill also says that if the federal government passes a law requiring the majority of states to stay in Daylight Saving Time, the Gem State will comply.