It's March and that means losing an hour of sleeping for Daylight Saving Time.

This year, the clocks change Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m., although most people make the change before turning in that night or the next day upon rising. And many modern devices make the change automatically.

The change stays in place until Nov. 2 when the clocks are turned back one hour to standard time.

The practice started as a way to take advantage of the sunlight, making it last later into the day but switching back the clock for winter so it was lighter in the mornings.

Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) started using daylight saving time July 1, 1908, and other places started following suit. Canada adopted it in 1918, but each province has jurisdiction on whether to use it or not, and some areas of B.C. opt out of daylight saving time. A 1919 poll showed 93 per cent of British Columbians wanted to do away with the twice yearly time change.