Did You Remember To Set Clocks Ahead Saturday Night For Daylight Saving Time?

Did you make it to church or brunch on time Sunday morning, March 12? Congratulations, you remembered to set your clocks ahead before you want to sleep Saturday night.

The switch to Daylight Saving Time gives us more sunlight later in the day and means spring is almost here – March 20 to be exact. The time change officially took place at 2 a.m., so you should have changed your microwave and old-school clocks Saturday night. The change is automatic for most smartphones, computers, tablets and other digital devices.

Firefighters like to remind you to check or even replace the batteries on your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms whenever you have to change your clocks.

Push the test button on the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm(s) in your home. If they do not work, replace the battery -- unless it is a sealed 10-year lithium battery, in which case you will have to get a new alarm.

It's also a good time to check flashlight batteries.

Sunset in Baltimore on March 12 will be at 7:11 p.m. and one minute later in Washington, D.C. The sun is up until 6:54 p.m. in Chicago, and until 6:59 p.m. in Los Angeles.

Tell us: Do you love or hate Daylight Saving Time? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Still, the longer days and the beginning of daylight saving time are associated with the end of the SAD (seasonal affected disorder) season, giving people an extra hour of daylight to enjoy after they got off work. SAD is clinical form of depression that is believed to affect about 5 percent of the U.S. population.

Michael Downing, the author of "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time," says one of the largest supporters of the annual clock change is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Business owners find that as the days grow longer, people shop more, with the golf and barbecue industries earning some of the biggest benefits, reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars, reports CNBC.

Critics say the lost hour of sleep harms our health, from increased strokes and heart attacks to lost productivity and workplace injuries.

And when does it end? DST will last until Nov. 5, 2017.

The change affects all states except Arizona and Hawaii.

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