Why standing clocks ahead can be bad for your health

This Sunday, March 29, the clocks will move forward one hour. Most people will sleep an hour less, and in the following days, evenings will gradually lengthen.

Clock changes happen twice a year, and while there have been many attempts to stop them, every year when spring arrives, the clock goes back one hour.

Daylight saving time was introduced during World War I to save energy and was reintroduced in many countries in the 1970s.

However, researchers are now warning about the health effects, especially of the springtime change.

How does the clock change affect the body?

While changing the time by an hour may not seem like a big deal, health experts and research studies have found that it has a bigger impact than many think.

Even a single clock shift disrupts our circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour clock that regulates sleep, alertness, hormone production, and mood.

“Most people should be able to adjust and adapt within a week, but we also know that there are people who struggle with adjusting their clocks and it takes weeks, if not months, for the body clock to adjust to just one hour change,” Geoffrey Kello, a post-doctoral research fellow who studies circadian rhythms at King’s College of Health in London, told Euronews.

He explained that a person’s internal clock is governed by genetics, and more research is needed to understand why some people struggle more than others.

The clock change during springtime, as well as affecting sleep, is associated with short-term spikes in traffic accidents, heart attacks, and depression.

More evening light

People welcome the time change in spring, as the hours of sunlight extend later in the day.

However, Kilo warns that exposure to light until late in the evening doesn’t let the body know it needs to rest and prepare for sleep.

“Light is a suppressor factor for the release of melatonin, so it delays the onset of your sleep, and that can make it harder for people to fall asleep,” Kilo noted.

Melatonin is a hormone released by the pineal gland when the body prepares for sleep. The body produces the most melatonin when it is dark and reduces production when exposed to light.

According to Kilo, darkening the bedroom before going to bed, blocking out outside light, can help improve sleep quality, as the body receives signals that it’s no longer daytime.

Why are circadian rhythms so important?

When circadian rhythms are strong, the body clock is well aligned with the 24-hour day and sends clear signals for important body functions.

People with strong rhythms maintain regular schedules for sleep and daily activity, even when their schedules or seasons change.

Disturbances in the body clock—whether due to irregular sleep or eating habits, jet lag, work shifts, or exposure to light at night—are linked to a range of health issues, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

A recent study also found a link between impaired circadian rhythms and dementia.

If we stop changing clocks, what time is best?

For many years, there have been initiatives across Europe to prevent time changes.

In 2018, the European Commission proposed to stop seasonal time changes permanently after a public consultation, in which 84 percent of the 4.5 million respondents favored abolition.

Cyprus and Greece were the only countries with a small majority in favor of maintaining the current system.

European member states never agreed on a position, and the proposal stalled in the Council of Europe.

But if clock changes stop, what time should we stop with?

“We [scientists] actually recommend staying with standard time, winter time,” Kellow said.

If daylight saving time becomes a permanent standard, most people will not see the morning light before going to work or school for most of the year.

“Morning light is very important,” he noted. “We are stuck in the office, and we are always exposed to artificial light”.

While artificial light also plays a role in synchronizing the body’s internal clock, it is weaker than natural light.

“This is very important for winter because, due to seasonal change, the length of the day is shorter anyway, and it’s after sunset, so we don’t have to deprive ourselves of a small amount of light,” Kilo added.