Daylight Saving Time Returns – When Does Louisiana Spring Forward?

The first six weeks of 2025 have brought several inches of snow to Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lake Charles, and other I-10 communities where snow "isn't a thing". We've also seen  Mardi Gras Parades beginning to roll. We've celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King and our United States Presidents so there is really only one more thing we need to do before we can officially declare it spring in Louisiana.

Yeah, it's time to do that "clock thing". You know the clock thing that no one really wants to do anymore? It's the return to Daylight Saving Time. And yes, according to Almanac.com there is no "s" on "saving". Or you can always opt for "Spring Forward" that's how most of us think about it. Meanwhile, our friends in the UK will simply go with "Summer Time".

Do you know who is actually in charge of Daylight Saving Time? Of all the branches and departments in our federal government which one would you think? Agriculture? We were taught the clock change would help farmers but no it's not USDA. 

Is it the Commerce Department? They are in charge of keeping America's economy strong and we've been told messing with the clocks is good for businesses. It helps them cut energy costs too. But no, it's not the Department of Commerce.

Then it has to be the Department of Energy? We just said moving the clocks around helps us conserve energy and fuel so it's got to be DOE, right? Wrong.

The folks who rule the roost and have our hands and the hands of the clock tied are the good people who work at the United States Department of Transportation. Yeah, the same folks in charge of all of those "safe bridges" and "crashing airplanes" have your time in their hands.

If you come across a town not enforcing the time change you can actually report them to DOT using this link. However, DOT cannot tell a state that it must follow any time change edict.

Personally, I'd like to just go without any changing of the clocks during the year. We do the spring-forward thing on the second Sunday in March and we do the fall-back thing on the first Sunday in November. That means if you're scoring at home you will lose an hour of sleep on Sunday, March 9th. But you will "get more daylight" at the end of your work day.

It usually takes me about a week to "get used to the time change". That's standard for a lot of people who have unique work schedules. If you're an early riser or a night owl these time changes can really mess with your sleep pattern so it's best to plan ahead.

That means avoiding booze and caffeine during "time-change weekend" and the days following. You'll also want to spend more time outdoors if you can. Allowing your body to soak up some sunshine helps reset the body's natural sleep patterns. And you can always take a nap too. Just be careful about when you take it and how long.

So, the bottom line is this. The clocks spring forward on March 9th or the night of the 8th when you go to bed. Hopefully, this will be the last time we do this. There appear to be more than enough votes in Congress to get it done. Maybe this will be the year.