You’ve heard us say this before. But we’re going to keep on saying it until this nation finally is free of the twice-yearly tyranny of a completely unnecessary chore: changing our clocks as we toggle between standard time and daylight saving time.

We will all pad through our households this Saturday night before bedtime, trying to track down and change every clock in the house just to be sure we’re right on schedule when we wake on Sunday morning.

We always miss one or two clocks. But why does your microwave feel like it needs to keep time in the first place? We don’t need it to tell time. We just want it to be able to pop popcorn without burning the kernels. And what about the clock in your vehicle? You’ll probably notice that you failed to change the clock there when you’re driving it next week. Don’t try to change it while you’re driving; it’s a harder task than you remember.

But why do we have to go through this in the first place? The time-change ritual was dubious to begin with, and there’s no reason now for it to continue. Experts increasingly recommend that we cast our lot with standard time, but the main thing is to do away with the time switch.

Americans have been messing with the clock since 1918, when Congress passed the Standard Time Act to establish federal oversight of time zones. One of the arguments then was that daylight saving time would save energy, but some studies have found that any savings from extended daylight are offset by the need for extra air conditioning.

(As an aside, it is not true, as some believe, that daylight saving time was created for the benefit of farmers; in fact, the agriculture industry lobbied against daylight saving time as early as 1919. In the memorable words of a “Last Week Tonight” segment on daylight saving time, “Cows don’t care what time it is, because they’re cows.”)

Your body, though, cares about the time switch. Evidence increasingly links the switch — in particular the “spring ahead” move to daylight saving time — to health consequences, including an increase in heart attacks, strokes, mood disturbances, hospital admissions and car crashes.

Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, reintroduced his Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The bill is stuck in Congress.

Sleep experts, however, recommend a permanent move to standard time; they argue that standard time (with its brighter mornings) is more naturally aligned with the progression of the sun, and therefore with the body’s natural clock. In a nation that struggles with sleep disorders, that’s not a small deal.

Alert readers may recall that the Oregon Legislature took action on this in 2019: Lawmakers approved a bill that would allow the state to end the time change once the federal government allows states to observe daylight saving time year-round — but only if Washington and California follow suit. This was a step forward, but only the federal government can free you from this time tyranny.

It’s long past time to end this nonsense. Let’s move to standard time year-round. Cows won’t care, but your body will — if only because you won’t have to remember ever again how to change the time on your microwave.