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Synchronize your watches: A Massachusetts commission on Wednesday will vote on whether to recommend a switch from Eastern time to Atlantic time, potentially prompting the Massachusetts state Legislature and the rest of the region to follow suit.

A clock is seen in a file photo. (Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A clock is seen in a file photo. (Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Such a move — which would give the continental U.S. five time zones instead of four — has been widely debated across New England, which juts hundreds of miles farther east than the rest of the states in the Eastern time zone.

Night falls earlier there, leaving less time for kids to play outside after school and fewer shoppers willing to go to stores after work when it’s dark.

That also makes the coming shift from daylight saving time on Nov. 5 more burdensome for New Englanders as they set their clocks another hour back. Lawmakers in Massachusetts and across the region have been looking for a solution.

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