Ready to lose an hour of sleep, Macon? Here’s when daylight savings starts in 2026
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Just when you were getting used to that extra hour of sleep that we got in November, it’s just about time to lose an hour and spring forward. Here’s what to know:
When should Macon residents change their clocks?
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, Mar 8, 2026 at 2 a.m. So, Maconites with wall clocks and manual alarm clocks will need to turn them forward an hour at that time.
Why do we have daylight saving time?
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, it might have first started because of Ben Franklin.
“Benjamin Franklin’s ‘An Economical Project,’ written in 1784, is the earliest known proposal to ‘save’ daylight,” said Catherine Boeckmann with the Almanac.
In a “whimsical tone,” Franklin wrote: “Every morning, as soon as the Sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing: and if that is not sufficient, let cannon be fired in every street to wake the sluggards effectually. Oblige a man to rise at four in the morning, and it is probable that he will go willingly to bed at eight in the evening.”
However, some associate the time change to war times when the U.S. needed to conserve fuel and power. And then there are farmers.
Many believe that daylight saving time allows farmers to have an extra hour in the fields to watch after crops.
What if it changes?
A change in Georgia’s adherence to daylight saving will mean the Sunshine Protection Act passed and the state will adopt permanent daylight saving time.
Other states that have proposed this include:
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Tennessee
- Ohio
- Delaware
- Minnesota
- Colorado
- Utah
- Montana
- Washington
- Oregon
States that voted down legislation: Idaho, Kentucky, Arkansas, Connecticut, Nebraska, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Virginia and Wyoming.
What do you think of springing forward? Comment below or let me know at cmadden@mcclatchy.com.
This story was originally published February 14, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
