The last weekend in October is almost here. That is when the clocks will once again be turned back by one hour. The change of time has long been subject to criticism. A survey provides further arguments for abolishing the clock change.
According to a representative Forsa survey commissioned by the Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH), nearly two-thirds of the women surveyed reported having more trouble falling asleep at night, staying asleep through the night, or getting up in the morning after the clock change. By contrast, 42 percent of men—less than half—had problems with the consequences of the change.
Irritable and tired
Furthermore, one in four women stated in the survey that they were irritable and tired in the days following the clock change. 57 percent of the women also stated that their child or children had trouble falling asleep in the evening after the clocks had been turned back. Among the men surveyed on behalf of the KKH, only one in six complained of fatigue and irritability. And only 20 percent of fathers observed sleep problems in their children as a result of the clock change. One in eight men stated that their offspring were particularly tired or irritable during the day. Among mothers, one in three agreed with this statement.
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Mini-jet lag due to the clock change
On Sunday, we can sleep for one hour longer. That sounds pleasant at first. In fact, the KKH also notes: "In the fall, the time change is somewhat more tolerable for the body clock than in the spring." Apparently, the organism copes better with going to bed and getting up an hour later than the opposite. When the clocks are changed to daylight saving time, we have to get used to getting up an hour earlier and—at best—going to bed an hour earlier. That is evidently more strenuous. In both cases, however, the body is thrown into a minor jet lag by the time change.
Abolition of the clock change
Many people consider the biannual changing of the clocks to be, quite literally, outdated. The public has been discussing the abolition of this regulation for years. An online survey with 4.6 million responses from 28 EU countries found that over 80 percent of respondents voted for abolition. Now, the European Parliament and the EU Commission are actually planning a change in the law: policymakers intend to abolish the time change, potentially as early as 2021. "Summer" and "winter" time would then be history. However, every country is to be allowed to decide for itself which time it would like to remain on permanently. Sleep specialists tend to prefer winter time.
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