The issue of switching time forward and back is a complex one and is generating much debate in Europe. I would like to analyze the current situation and present the information in a clear way.
Iceland has been a pioneer in Europe by permanently eliminating the practice of changing the time. This country keeps the same time all year round, a decision that reflects a trend that could spread to other European countries.
The European Union has been debating the elimination of daylight saving time since 2018, when it held a public consultation in which the majority of citizens were in favor of ending the practice. However, implementation has been delayed by several factors, including the need for coordination between countries to avoid a patchwork of different time zones that could affect the single market.
In the case of Spain, the system of biannual time changes is being maintained for the time being:
- Change to summer time: last Sunday in March.
- Change to winter time: last Sunday in October.
The arguments in favor of eliminating the time change include:
- Improvement of sleep patterns and reduction of circadian rhythm disorders.
- Possible energy savings less significant than when the measure was implemented.
- Reduction of traffic accidents related to the time change.
- Simplification of timetables for companies operating internationally.
Goodbye to the time change
The reality is that this time change, which until now had become a way of saving money, is losing its raison d’être. In theory, this change allowed us to use less light, although in reality the opposite is happening today.
Office or factory hours no longer follow the sunrise or sunset, it is something rigid, so it ends up supposing a series of transformations that we must take into account and that perhaps until now we would not have thought we had ahead of us.
Now the time change only affects us, we have to look at the clock and try to get back to sleeping the required 8 hours or organize our rhythms according to what this extra or less hour means, depending on the time of year.
It is time to look a little further than this transformation that involves leaving behind the hour that moves throughout the year. There are countries that have already decided to break free from this infinite loop of recovery or of giving up that hour that seems to come and go.
This European country will not do it again
Ukraine said goodbye to daylight saving time in 2024, it will not do it again and that means it will be able to obtain a series of important benefits that may end up being the ones that will accompany us in a few days when anything is possible. Perhaps Spain will end up obtaining this important change that others have obtained over time.
