2026 time change dates for Arkansas
At 2:00 AM the clocks jump straight to 3:00 AM in Arkansas. That hour never happens, and everyone loses an hour of sleep.
At 2:00 AM the clocks return to 1:00 AM, so that hour is lived through twice and the night is an hour longer.
Arkansas keeps CST in winter and shifts one hour forward for the summer.
Countdown to the next change
Economic Impact of DST in Arkansas
The economic effects of Daylight Saving Time in Arkansas are real but modest, and studies disagree on their size. Retailers and hospitality businesses generally favour DST, arguing that lighter evenings encourage shopping, dining out and other after-work spending — the US retail lobby was one of the main forces behind the 2005 extension of the DST period.
The transitions themselves carry a cost. Research from Chmura Economics has put the one-off economic cost of the spring change in the United States at roughly $430 million a year, driven by lost productivity, workplace injuries and the health effects of a disrupted night's sleep.
Background
- Arizona and Hawaii are the only US states that skip DST statewide, along with the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands.
- Benjamin Franklin is often credited with inventing DST, but his 1784 essay was satire — he joked that Parisians could save candles by waking earlier. The modern proposal came from New Zealander George Hudson in 1895 and Briton William Willett in 1907.
- Russia experimented with permanent summer time from 2011 to 2014 before settling on permanent standard time.
Tips for Arkansas
Use the phrase 'Spring forward, fall back' to remember which direction to change your clocks.
Check and replace smoke detector batteries when changing clocks - it's a good reminder!
Be extra cautious driving the Monday after the spring time change - accident rates increase.
Set your clocks before going to bed to avoid confusion in the morning.
Frequently asked questions
When do the clocks change in Arkansas in 2026?
Clocks go forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Which way do the clocks go?
"Spring forward, fall back" is the usual mnemonic: forward one hour in spring, back one hour in autumn.
Do I have to change anything myself?
Phones, computers and anything that syncs over the internet update on their own. Car clocks, ovens, microwaves and older wall clocks generally do not.
Is Daylight Saving Time being scrapped?
It has been proposed in many places and adopted in few. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end mandatory clock changes and the change has stalled; in the United States the Sunshine Protection Act has repeatedly passed the Senate without becoming law. Most of the world that changes its clocks is still changing them.