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End of CEST: Spain to keep clock changes until 2021
25/10/2019
LITTLE has been mentioned in the past year about the Europe-wide plan to stop turning the clocks back in winter – and, once again, from this weekend, it will get dark an hour earlier in Spain and on the rest of the continent.
Europeans who took part in an online survey voted overwhelmingly for more daylight – over 90%, especially in more northern countries where the skies are black in the mornings and residents go home from school and work in the dark, but also in Spain, where it was felt that longer hours of light would be beneficial for the tourism industry.
The European Commission decided that March 2019 would be the last compulsory hour change among the 28 member States of the Union, but as yet, no single country has passed legislation opting to do away with the twice-yearly clock change.
This said, European Parliament is aiming for the twice-annual clock adjustment to be scrapped from the year 2021, so it could be that within two or three years, nobody will have to worry about it again except when they travel outside the continent.
A leading neurologist has warned of the health effects Saturday's change will bring and how to alleviate them – although these are only temporary.
Attention deficit, short-term memory problems and generalised 'brain fog', as well as tiredness, sleepiness, a depressed mood and irritability are the common problems seen after the clocks change – in spring or in winter since, even though bringing the clocks forward on Saturday night will mean an extra hour's sleep, the body has to work harder to adjust to a new circadian rhythm, so even those who work set hours will experience 'shift-worker syndrome', or feel permanently jet-lagged, according to Dr Karol Uscamaita of the Adsalutem Institute.
It is common to wake up feeling as though you have slept poorly, even if you have managed to pack in the full eight hours.
Fortunately, at this time of year, the clock change does not mean fewer hours of sleep – but in spring, typical effects also include increased blood pressure or faster heartbeat, Dr Uscamaita says.
Greater difficulty in concentrating can cause problems at work, making everyone's job feel harder, and also when driving, so motorists should exercise additional care.
And heightened irritability can cause an unpleasant atmosphere and more arguments among friends, family and work colleagues.
Dr Uscamaita recommends preparing for the hour change in the days leading up to it by eating, sleeping and getting up 10 or 15 minutes earlier or later each day, depending upon the time of year, although if – like now, ahead of the autumn clock change - there is no time left to do so beforehand, start doing so after the hour switch, and avoid middle-of-the-day naps where possible to give the body time to adjust.
Improving sleep-wake hygiene, such as by avoiding stimulants, computer or mobile phone screens or heavy meals before bed, and arranging for natural light to enter the room ahead of waking up – curtains which do not filter out all the light from outside, for example – will help.
Those with a more fixed routine will adapt quicker, although those who do not, such as shift workers, will find it takes much longer.
The middle-aged and elderly will find it takes longer than younger adults or children, Dr Uscamaita says – those aged 70 or more tend to wake up earlier naturally, and can suddenly find themselves wide awake at 04.00 or 05.00 in the morning.
More daylight earlier in the morning is good for the organism, although at times of the year when it gets dark early, people will feel tired earlier – lack of natural light stimulates melatonin production, which aids sleep.
When does it get dark in Spain? Impact by region on clock changes studied
Spain's National Geographical Institute has drawn up a map showing what times sunrise and sundown would be if the country were to stay on winter hours – after all, the effect will not be the same for people living in the Balearic Islands as for those living in Galicia in the far north-west just above Portugal.
As at March 29, 2020, the first full day of what would normally be summer hours next year, it is due to get dark at 20.58 in A Coruña (Galicia) and 20.15 in Barcelona, although if winter hours were maintained, night would fall at 19.58 in A Coruña and 19.15 in Barcelona.
At the other extreme, by switching the clocks in spring as usual, on the first day of Central European Summer Time (CEST), night falls at 20.12 in Mallorca, which would reduce to 19.12 if winter hours were kept.
On the longest night of the year, June 21, it normally gets dark in A Coruña at 22.18 and the sun comes up at 07.53, although this would change to 21.18 and 06.53 respectively if winter hours were kept – effectively, putting Spain on the same time lag as the UK, Portugal and Morocco are in summer now.
By contrast, on the longest day in Mallorca, it gets dark at 21.21 and the sun comes up at 06.22 in the morning, but this would change to 20.21 and 05.22 if winter hours were maintained.
On the shortest day, December 21, it is dark in A Coruña until 09.03 in the morning and night falls again at 18.00, although if the clocks did not change and Spain stayed on summer hours, it would still be dark in the mornings until 10.03 and the sun would not go down at night until 19.00.
And on the shortest day, it is dark in the morning in Mallorca until 08.06 and gets dark again at night at 17.26, although if summer hours were maintained, it would not get light until 09.06 in the morning and it would still be daylight until 18.26.
Spain's government has opted to delay any decisions on the clock change until the last minute – the year 2021 – although it will need to carefully study the tables to work out the impact on daily life; clearly, it would be in the interests of the Balearic Islands to continue to have daylight until 21.21 in summer, and in fact, the regional government has even asked to be able to go forward an hour in time so as to keep the sun up until 22.21, as this gives holidaymakers longer to enjoy the beach and other summer attractions.
On the other hand, being dark until 10.03 in the morning in winter could make life uncomfortable for people in Galicia, who would spend at least the first hour in their offices in darkness.
Either way, for those who need to reset their clocks manually – rare these days, given that most people use mobile phones, tablets or computers to tell the time and these automatically update – at 02.59 on Sunday morning, October 27, it will switch to 02.00 a minute later.
Related Topics
LITTLE has been mentioned in the past year about the Europe-wide plan to stop turning the clocks back in winter – and, once again, from this weekend, it will get dark an hour earlier in Spain and on the rest of the continent.
Europeans who took part in an online survey voted overwhelmingly for more daylight – over 90%, especially in more northern countries where the skies are black in the mornings and residents go home from school and work in the dark, but also in Spain, where it was felt that longer hours of light would be beneficial for the tourism industry.
The European Commission decided that March 2019 would be the last compulsory hour change among the 28 member States of the Union, but as yet, no single country has passed legislation opting to do away with the twice-yearly clock change.
This said, European Parliament is aiming for the twice-annual clock adjustment to be scrapped from the year 2021, so it could be that within two or three years, nobody will have to worry about it again except when they travel outside the continent.
A leading neurologist has warned of the health effects Saturday's change will bring and how to alleviate them – although these are only temporary.
Attention deficit, short-term memory problems and generalised 'brain fog', as well as tiredness, sleepiness, a depressed mood and irritability are the common problems seen after the clocks change – in spring or in winter since, even though bringing the clocks forward on Saturday night will mean an extra hour's sleep, the body has to work harder to adjust to a new circadian rhythm, so even those who work set hours will experience 'shift-worker syndrome', or feel permanently jet-lagged, according to Dr Karol Uscamaita of the Adsalutem Institute.
It is common to wake up feeling as though you have slept poorly, even if you have managed to pack in the full eight hours.
Fortunately, at this time of year, the clock change does not mean fewer hours of sleep – but in spring, typical effects also include increased blood pressure or faster heartbeat, Dr Uscamaita says.
Greater difficulty in concentrating can cause problems at work, making everyone's job feel harder, and also when driving, so motorists should exercise additional care.
And heightened irritability can cause an unpleasant atmosphere and more arguments among friends, family and work colleagues.
Dr Uscamaita recommends preparing for the hour change in the days leading up to it by eating, sleeping and getting up 10 or 15 minutes earlier or later each day, depending upon the time of year, although if – like now, ahead of the autumn clock change - there is no time left to do so beforehand, start doing so after the hour switch, and avoid middle-of-the-day naps where possible to give the body time to adjust.
Improving sleep-wake hygiene, such as by avoiding stimulants, computer or mobile phone screens or heavy meals before bed, and arranging for natural light to enter the room ahead of waking up – curtains which do not filter out all the light from outside, for example – will help.
Those with a more fixed routine will adapt quicker, although those who do not, such as shift workers, will find it takes much longer.
The middle-aged and elderly will find it takes longer than younger adults or children, Dr Uscamaita says – those aged 70 or more tend to wake up earlier naturally, and can suddenly find themselves wide awake at 04.00 or 05.00 in the morning.
More daylight earlier in the morning is good for the organism, although at times of the year when it gets dark early, people will feel tired earlier – lack of natural light stimulates melatonin production, which aids sleep.
When does it get dark in Spain? Impact by region on clock changes studied
Spain's National Geographical Institute has drawn up a map showing what times sunrise and sundown would be if the country were to stay on winter hours – after all, the effect will not be the same for people living in the Balearic Islands as for those living in Galicia in the far north-west just above Portugal.
As at March 29, 2020, the first full day of what would normally be summer hours next year, it is due to get dark at 20.58 in A Coruña (Galicia) and 20.15 in Barcelona, although if winter hours were maintained, night would fall at 19.58 in A Coruña and 19.15 in Barcelona.
At the other extreme, by switching the clocks in spring as usual, on the first day of Central European Summer Time (CEST), night falls at 20.12 in Mallorca, which would reduce to 19.12 if winter hours were kept.
On the longest night of the year, June 21, it normally gets dark in A Coruña at 22.18 and the sun comes up at 07.53, although this would change to 21.18 and 06.53 respectively if winter hours were kept – effectively, putting Spain on the same time lag as the UK, Portugal and Morocco are in summer now.
By contrast, on the longest day in Mallorca, it gets dark at 21.21 and the sun comes up at 06.22 in the morning, but this would change to 20.21 and 05.22 if winter hours were maintained.
On the shortest day, December 21, it is dark in A Coruña until 09.03 in the morning and night falls again at 18.00, although if the clocks did not change and Spain stayed on summer hours, it would still be dark in the mornings until 10.03 and the sun would not go down at night until 19.00.
And on the shortest day, it is dark in the morning in Mallorca until 08.06 and gets dark again at night at 17.26, although if summer hours were maintained, it would not get light until 09.06 in the morning and it would still be daylight until 18.26.
Spain's government has opted to delay any decisions on the clock change until the last minute – the year 2021 – although it will need to carefully study the tables to work out the impact on daily life; clearly, it would be in the interests of the Balearic Islands to continue to have daylight until 21.21 in summer, and in fact, the regional government has even asked to be able to go forward an hour in time so as to keep the sun up until 22.21, as this gives holidaymakers longer to enjoy the beach and other summer attractions.
On the other hand, being dark until 10.03 in the morning in winter could make life uncomfortable for people in Galicia, who would spend at least the first hour in their offices in darkness.
Either way, for those who need to reset their clocks manually – rare these days, given that most people use mobile phones, tablets or computers to tell the time and these automatically update – at 02.59 on Sunday morning, October 27, it will switch to 02.00 a minute later.
Related Topics
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