GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- It has been a yearly gut punch for Michiganders since 1973, when the state first began observing daylight saving time.
But one lawmaker in Michigan wants voters to decide whether the state should stick with the practice.
State Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, has proposed legislation letting voters decide this November whether to keep Michigan on standard time permanently.
If passed, Michigan would join Hawaii and Arizona as the only states that don't change their clocks.
State lawmakers have introduced similar bills before -- although the measures haven't advanced.
The implementation of daylight saving time goes back to the World War I era when it was promoted as an electricity-saving step during wartime. The federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 put daylight saving time into effect unless a state specifically opted out - which Michigan voters decided to do in a 1968 vote. A 1972 state election reversed that decision.
Sleep experts, however, say there could be real benefits to dropping the time switch.
A Corewell Health sleep medicine psychologist says losing the hour of sleep can wreak havoc on the body, increasing the likelihood of heart attack and strokes.
The time twist also affects driver concentration and irritability, with a 6% increase in auto accidents, a study from the University of Colorado-Boulder found.
But doing away with the change could still have consequences.
"If we stayed on daylight saving time, it wouldn't be light until nearly 9 o'clock in the morning in the winter days," Dr. Kelly Baron, a sleep specialist at the University of Utah Health's Sleep-Wake Center, said on the hospital's website. "That would be really difficult for kids waiting for the school bus...everybody would be feeling really tired in the morning."
Adjusting to the time change is usually something that takes a few days, but now that we've sprung forward, there are some safety tips that experts say are important to embrace immediately.
Michigan Department of Transportation emphasizes the importance of watching out for pedestrians, early morning runners and bicyclists, even more so when visibility is limited.
As you patrol the house looking for any and every clock to reset, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs urges everyone to also check on their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
As of March 1, 25 people have died in 22 fires in Michigan this year, and 15 of those 22 homes did not have working smoke alarms, the Michigan Fire Inspectors Society said on its website. Michiganders are also encouraged to talk to their families about "Get out and Stay out" methods as well as not fighting the fires themselves.
To help prevent fatal fires, LARA recommends the following:
The city of Grand Rapids offers a residential safety assessment program, which includes a free fire safety check, smoke alarm upgrades and installation, and one-on-one safety consultations. Free smoke detectors are also available through the Red Cross. They'll install up to three at no cost. You can register or call 1-800-RED CROSS to learn more.