While many Americans are knowingly looking forward to Halloween festivities this Thursday, a lesser known reason to celebrate is also coming to the population this week. On Sunday, an extra hour of sleep awaits the American public, just as sweet to college students, working parents, and other members of the sleep-deprived masses as any piece of candy could hope to be. The clocks will be rolling back an hour on Sunday, November 3, at 2:00 A.M. in order to make the official end of Daylight saving time for the 2013 year.

Interestingly enough, the federal government does not require states and territories to abide by daylight savings. For this reason, residents of Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and a few other places will not be getting an extra hour of sleep come Sunday morning. America is also not the only nation to participate in daylight saving time; some parts of Brazil observe it, and both Russia and Japan are thinking of re-instating the practice in order to solve energy problems.

The practice of daylight savings began during World War I, when countries implemented it to save on energy costs accumulated by artificial lighting. During World War II, the United States made daylight savings time mandatory, and even implemented it year-around between 1942 and 1945. Since then, it has become optional for states and territories to abide by daylight saving time. There has been some discussion about the actual benefits of daylight saving time, but no real change; most states opt into the saving time, and there are many weary people that treasure their extra hour in thankfulness.

So, as this joyous time draws close, this writer would like to remind the readers here at WebProNews to “fall back” and set their clocks back and hour and re-set their alarms before they go to sleep on Saturday so that they may get the full benefits of their extra hour of dream time. Many public safety officials also encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke alarms around this time of year, and encourage people to act responsibly as they soak up their extra hour of bar time, if they so choose. Regardless of how you choose to spend it, be safe, have fun, and make the most of your extra hour on Sunday!

[Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]