In 1916, it says here on the internet, so it must be true, Germany decided to put the clocks back an hour in order to conserve energy. Everyone else, including the UK, followed suit. “Hooray,” cried no one. “We’ve conserved energy by bringing forward darkness to what feels like mid afternoon. Let’s celebrate good times, come on.” And, apart from a common sense blip from 1968 to 1971, we’ve arsed around with the clocks twice a year for no good reason. Apparently, the government has “no plans” to revisit the subject. Am I the only person in the land who believes it should?
According to Good Housekeeping magazine – always a good reference point I don’t feel – there are pros and cons. Here are the pros:
PROS
Morning Light
Daylight Saving Hours is designed to ensure morning light across the UK.
This is particularly important in the northern parts of Scotland where, as daylight hours are lost to the Winter, people would be spending their first few hours in darkness.
More Sleep
The weekend of the switch people can enjoy another hour in bed in the morning. Sadly this feeling doesn’t last long.
However, the increased darkness can encourage us to go to sleep earlier in the evening – something most of us could certainly benefit from.
Cosy Nights In
As much as dark gloomy nights can get you down, and stop you venturing out, they are a brilliant excuse for putting your feet up with a good book.
No one will blame you for catching up on the best Autumn TV when it’s already pitch black at 8pm!
And the cons:
Less Exercise
A recent study has suggested that children are less active when the clocks go back as they are unable to play outside after school.
It’s not only children either, many people struggle to find motivation to keep fit when the evenings get darker. Why not try an at home workout?
Less Daylight
There are a number of health benefits to Winter sun, from improved mood to healthier weight. Less daylight is hard to get on board with.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
For some the change in seasons and light is a real issue. SAD can cause serious depression and is seen more often in women than men.
I may be a bit slow on the uptake here, but the changes to the clock do not affect the actual period of light during the day. We don’t really get an extra hour in bed. We just tinker around with when the light appears. For a few months, it’s a bit lighter in the mornings but darker in the evenings.
The pros puts forward the interesting argument that the dark evenings “are a brilliant excuse for putting your feet up with a good book” but then says, “No one will blame you for catching up on the best Autumn TV when it’s already pitch black at 8pm!” Hello? Is anybody out there? Even before the clocks change this coming weekend it is pitch black long before 8pm. And already, it’s horrible.
I do not know whether I have Season Affective Disorder (SAD) but all the symptoms are wearily familiar. For as long as I can remember, I have always dreaded the clocks going back. It saps my mood and energy, sometimes I want to go to bed and just stay there until the first day of spring (1st March), except that when I go to bed my brain rarely stops churning over and I have to get up again! I’m never satisfied, am I?
I realise that changing the clocks would not suit everyone. Apparently, Scottish farmers would strongly object because they don’t fancy farming in total darkness, so here’s my suggestion: let the Scots choose their own daylight savings if they prefer. And the Welsh and the good folk of Norn Iron. Proper devolution.
For me, though, I just want to keep the light bit at the end of the day and not the beginning. I don’t care if it’s dark when I wake and get up because I know it will soon be light. And the light, and the prospect of light, lifts my mood. Does it boost yours, too? In which case, let’s all tell the government to consult the people of the UK as to whether we should abandon the tradition of daylight savings which we started doing in World War 1. (Spoiler alert: World War 1 ended a rather long time ago.
I can’t believe anyone likes ploughing through endless instructions on changing the time in your car or farting about with an old fashioned watch. In the end, it’s all about what time we have the light. My vote is for the late afternoon/evening. You?
The header of this blog says it all for me.
