All the countries of the European Union are currently oblige to adapt their schedule according to the two current summer time changes. Thus, for a long time with the arrival of these changes, the controversy has returned about whether these modifications are necessary. More than 60 countries in the world have made these two changes for 45 years. Until 2019, the European Commission did not put on the table the option of not doing them again, with a limit in the current year 2021 so that they are never modify again.
The approval of this suspension of modifications in the hours opens the debate again on the decision that each country can make. In this way, it will be the countries themselves that choose to maintain summer time indefinitely, which enters this Sunday again, or wait for winter time to keep this as the default time.
Advantages of summer time
Spain has until this year to decide on one schedule or another. Through the creation of a commission of experts, it is currently being studied which of the two is the most convenient for the population. Until that happens, they will continue to change, for the moment, in March and October.
At present, said commission of experts favorably tends to maintain winter time as the time that remains, although there is no final decision. This Sunday the clock is move forward one more hour through the entry of summer time and the benefits of this change are not few.
In the first place, we will have more daylight hours because the night will come later. This translates into an increase in the possibilities to enjoy leisure time, avoiding a sedentary lifestyle since it has been shown that less television is consume during this time. This change also affects the economy, because it favors tourism.
Daylight saving time also brings a drop in robberies because these tend to be cause by nightfall. It also brings with it an increase in exercise by having more time in the day. All this has a significant impact on health.
This measure was initially promote base on energy savings and continues to be one of its main guarantees. By enjoying more routines outdoors and also having natural light, this has an impact on electricity consumption, lowering it considerably.
Among the main detractors of summer time are reasons such as the fact that there is a significant change in our habits since we must adapt our meal times and go to sleep. Another reason against it is the time at which it dawns, because in Spain it would not occur until 9:30 in the morning.
We will have to wait for the decision of the committee of experts to finally see the repercussions that one or another time change would finally have on our daily lives.
Some important points
ADVANTAGE:
- The main purpose of the time change is in the supposed energy saving, although it is increasingly difficult to notice this impact on savings due to the fact that the energy price has skyrocketed.
- Enjoying more hours of sunlight leads to more vitamin D for people and, therefore, an improvement in people’s mood and a decrease in the risk of suffering from depression.
- Intense light is necessary during the day, sunlight being the ideal, so that later melatonin can be synthesize during the night, which favors a healthy rest, according to the Spanish Sleep Society (SES).
- It allows outdoor recreational activities and also being able to enjoy playing sports or being away from home.
DISADVANTAGES:
- These time changes produce alterations in our body. The elderly and children are the ones who most often suffer the consequences. It can cause an imbalance of the internal clock.
- Some studies put on the table the possibility that the time change that occurs in spring brings with it an increase in cardiovascular problems.