On the night of October 26-27, there was a time change, perhaps the penultimate time. We put our watches back an hour, so we slept longer. But what does time change mean for our body?
How we react to the change of time
Our biological clocks do not like changes, even shifting the time one hour forward or backward can disrupt them. For a few days after changing the time, we may feel sleepy, tired, have a worse mood and problems with concentration. This is similar to jet lag after traveling by plane.
The change from summer to winter time
It makes the day shorter and dusk falls earlier. We miss the sunlight, we get up in the dark and go home in the dark. When this happens, the brain begins to produce more melatonin, the hormone that tells our biological clock what time of day it is. Melatonin levels peak at night, so we get sleepy. However, in winter, when less light reaches our eyes, melatonin levels also increase during the day.
The change from winter to summer time
The effects of moving clocks forward an hour are even worse. After switching to daylight saving time, risk of stroke and heart attack increases in the first few days. Sleep disturbances caused by an hour reduction in sleep are most likely responsible for these problems. In autumn, no such trends were observed, and the most common ailments we experience are those described above.
Seasonal depression
The lack of light not only increases the level of melatonin, but also reduces the level of serotonin, the happiness hormone. This can lead to seasonal depression in some people. Then we suffer from sleep disorders, we lack energy, and we consume more sweets because sugar raises serotonin levels. The method of treatment is phototherapy. It uses special lamps that emit light with an intensity up to 10 thousand lux (the sun dose on a cloudless day is up to 100 thousand lux). The effectiveness of the therapy reaches up to 80%.
Economic effects
The introduction of daylight saving time was initiated by Germany during World War I in order to reduce energy consumption. In those days, it made sense and actually reduced energy consumption. Currently, energy savings are imperceptible. Changing the time causes a lot of problems, e.g. trains are stopped for an hour or are delayed one hour. Fortunately, the EU noticed the problem. The last change will take place on the last Sunday in March 2021 or the last Sunday in October 2021 depending on whether daylight saving time or winter time is preferred.
Questions:
- What do you think about the time change? Should we keep moving watches or give up?
- Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
- How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
Comments
Give up. I personally have problems after each change. Our ancestor have better time managment then us without it and we really should take example from them.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Yes, I have headackes, I feel some sort of derealization for few days. I don't know If I ever head heart problem because of the winter to summer switch, but it is also possible.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I don't. My body simply gets used to after a week or two. It is really tedious to live with it for that time, but I'm happy we may get rid of it soon.
2. Even dogs suffer from time changes, so I think that most of us suffer somehow, but we can manage it better or worse. It is easier when people don't have to wake up at fixed hours because they simply go to work one hour earlier or later. I think that people like students won't have such problems, as we are used to coming back home at 5 AM and being on the lecture at 8 AM :) When it comes to me, I don't think I suffer a lot - I simply don't pay much attention to the hours.
3. It takes me like 2 months... to eventually change all the clocks at home. I am even too lazy to change the time in some devices like my scooter because I don't use it that much in winter.
Answering the second question, as I said, I do not really notice the fact that something has changed. However I feel that I might sometimes experience seasonal depression. I do not suffer from sleep disorders as the article says, but I definitely suffer from lack of energy and I eat more sweets. However, it does not touch me in a way to decide to treat myself with phototherapy.
As I said before, I do not really deal with any effects as I don’t feel any. Maybe I am a little less energetic but I just force myself to go for a walk. However, the situation right now is totally different and we just have to force ourselves to move. Before the pandemic I was just angry that I had to go to school when it was dark and it was dark when I woke up but besides being angry I didn’t have any problems to deal with. Eating sweets… Well, when I think about it for a little longer, I feel like I might just use seasonal depression as an excuse. I have to deal with it for the whole year actually. And I am trying to do it with my strong will, which unfortunately is not that strong.
2. I do not feel depressed or have health problems due to the change of time, but I have a problem getting my body used to falling asleep and getting up earlier or later.
3. Most often, to get used to the time change, I force myself to do certain activities for a few days and then it becomes a standard behavior of the body. Forcing myself to perform certain activities at certain times is certainly not a pleasant thing, but for me it is necessary to get used to changes quickly.
My methods for dealing with negative effects of time change are the following: trying to go to sleep earlier/later (depending if we are adding or subtracting one hour from the current time) possibly starting just at the first day after time change to adapt as quickly as possible. Keeping the previous routine makes it only worse, and the adaptation process becomes only longer.
My biological clock changes frequently. Contrary to what doctors and specialists say, it is possible to get used to Jet-Lag. (Or at least I did.) I have a special routine that allows me to settle into a new place and time quite quickly. With changes reaching even a dozen or so hours, simply shifting the clocks by one hour does not impress me.
Movement in the fresh air and physical exertion such as training or work allow the human body to sleep at times that we consciously consider appropriate. By jogging, we give a sign to our body that at this moment focus and high efficiency are needed, so we forget about sleeping. It doesn't have to be a full marathon run, but a quick and tiring run. I heard about this method in the context of the conscious use of the subconscious mechanisms that are an evolutionary leftover from the time when man lived in caves. You can imagine that when a human is being chased by a predator, they will not think about sleeping. By using this method, we can immediately change our biological clock.
I think that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. I understand that we have more hours during the winter season but the fact of recalibrating our inner clock has an enormous impact on our well-being.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I don't feel this change, nevertheless, I understand how it affects me and others. I'm often shocked when I realise that the time has changed and at times it has a bad impact on my life (being late for something etc.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I don't do anything because I often forget about it. If I'm aware of the upcoming change I allow myself to sleep a little bit longer to painlessly get through the change.
Yes, I do feel changes as I said before it will change your schedule you would feel so unhealthy because of time changing.It make us moodles.In summer because of sunny weather and early time, I woke up early and go out for a walk I see the beauty of nature.
Most frequently, to get used to the change in time, I push myself for a few days to do those things and then it becomes the body's normal action. It is definitely not a fun thing to push myself to undertake certain tasks at certain times, but it is important for me to get used to changes quickly.
2. Not the time change itself. However, when the weather changes to autumn, my mood immediately deteriorates. It seems to me that it may be some kind of seasonal dysfunction. Autumn is the time when I should be especially careful and not expose myself to various unnecessary and unpleasant emotional states.
3. I don't really have anything to deal with :) Most of the problems I experience are purely seasonal. One day a year we sleep one hour shorter. You are asleep for a while, and that's it. I think it is very important to prepare properly for the time change. Go to sleep regularly and not burden yourself unnecessarily. Sleep has a huge impact on our mental and physical health. Remember this and take care of your sleep
2. I guess I'm the lucky one who doesn't experience any changes due to the change of time.
3. Referring to the previous answer, I do not have to deal with them in any way because I do not have them.
23. As for the influence of time changes on my body, I do not see any side effects. Since I am a student, sometimes I go to bed at 10pm, sometimes at 2am, and I get up differently as well. Every day is different for me and I don't have a routine of getting up and going to bed so I don't notice any difference.
I personally don't see any difference while changing time, as my watch and smartphone adapts automatically. Only thing i have to remember is fact if I can sleep hour more or less, to adapt to it.
Third answer will be quite short, as only thing I do is going to sleep earlier/later to maintain my sleeping schedule.
I haven't felt much change yet, because this is my second year in Warsaw. In my country, we do not change clocks to winter time. I don't even know about the shortcomings, the most important thing is the phone and the entire device automatically change the time and this is very convenient.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
No I do not. As I mentioned all devices changing time to winter automatically. I don't feel anything about it.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As I mentioned before changing time doesn't affect me on anyway. Maybe the only thing I can sleep longer.
Time change is one of those things which I knew about since as far as I can remember and I got used to it so much that I don't really pay attention to it. It wouldn't be fun to wake up in the snowy morning and wait few hours for a sun to finally rise. It would be cool however to have a longer days in winter. I would definately find a place for myself in both of those scenarios.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I am one of those people who are lucky enough to ignore any side effects of changing time. My days are pretty much unregular anyway so one hour more or one hour less is not a problem for me.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
Like I said, I don't feel those effects. I always try to look for possitives and one time I am glad that I can sleep hour longer and other time I am glad that my day is getting longer.
1. I have a neutral opinion about the time change because I don't feel it.
2. As I wrote above, I do not feel the change from winter to summer time and vice versa. None of the things mentioned in this article apply to me.
3. The answer to this question are the above answers to the remaining questions :)
I don't know whether in the past it was legitimately justified or not.
But now, I am absolutely sure that there is no point at all in silly, petty regulations like that.
To be completely honest, I fondly remember times when change meant more time to sleep.
In middle school, I had some distance to school, so it was important to wake up early for a bus.
During undergraduate studies, it had little effect on my schedule and I believe it stays like this until now.
Recently, the effects of time change have gone completely unnoticed by me.
But there were funny moments like realizing I could sleep longer.
In summary, time change is but a one regulation like that.
We are surrounded by unnecessary bureaucracy which only makes life harder.
I am not overly sad about that, overcoming those difficulties is interesting to some extent :)
In the end, however, I would like to see them gone completely.
A lot of time ago it had reason because people was starting their job on some factories earlier in winter and it wasn't dark. Right now i think this time change make no sense and they should stop doing this.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
To be honest i don't sleep regulary. I mean i go to sleep at different hours etc and i don't see any difference as you mantioned for example i don't feel so tired in few next days or something like that.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As i wrote before i don't have any negative effects about that so for me there is nothing to deal with. Anyway if someone have problem with that i could probably recommend to do hard workout and go to sleep one hour earlier. In summer time when it is opossite situation you can try to go to sleep few minutes later every day and you shouldn't feel this changes.
I don't mind any of these. Nothing really is changing for me. I leave home - it's dark, I come home - it's dark. I'm not feeling any difference. It's just the thing that we have to remember to change time when needed.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I don't feel the difference while chaning time. Only little confusion when it's time to change the time and ofc course... I have totally forgotten about it.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
Sadly I don't deal with them. Sorry!
In my opinion, changing the time to winter and summer does not make any sense. As you described in your article, various problems and ailments result from it.
This is a holdover from the old days that in my opinion should simply be rejected. And so every six months he has to change his habits - go to bed earlier,
or wake up early in the morning. It destroys the schedule of the day.
2.Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Yes, unfortunately I feel the changes strongly. For a week after the time change, I walk terribly tired, my daily schedule is completely ruined.
I completely can't find myself. I can't find a way to get used to these changes quickly, so I believe the time should be changed.
3.How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
Honestly, as I mentioned above, I honestly don't have any way to get used to it. My daily schedule is completely shattered for at least a week.
I can't find myself, that's why I'm against changing time.
2. No, I don't really experience any issues when we change time. Or maybe I just never thought about it those days. Although I heard about an interesting study that students in the schools do much worse if their exams were scheduled on the day when the time is changed.
3. When I move to my parents to USA for a few months I always experience jet lag, of course. And you can't do anything about except to try stabilizing as fast as you can by forcing yourself not to go to bad until reasonable night time (for me it's 11-12 PM).
I think there is no sense to change time. As I read, time changing does not save too much energy. Also, I don’t think it’s good for your health. Of course, change from summer to wintertime helps people feel better in the morning because it’s already light, but after work or school, it’s already dark, so people don’t go for a walk with children or dog so their physical activity decreases.
I think we shouldn’t keep mowing watches. Many years ago people didn’t change any time. They worked hard all summer from dawn to dusk, but in winter they worked less and slept more. I think that we have to adjust the working hours to the length of the day. At summer working hours could be longer, but in winter shorter. I think it’s might be helpful also for students, because they can work more during vacations.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
No. I don’t really know when the time changes. It just changes automatically on my phone and computer so I don’t see any difference.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As I said, I don’t see any difference because I don’t even know when the time changes. For me, there is no difference between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. I just awake when my alarm clock is ringing and live as I lived before.
What do you think about the time change? Should we keep moving watches or give up?
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
In my opinion we should give up with this – its generating more issues than positive ones.
I guess I’m this lucky one with that because I often forget about that time change at all.
I’m not dealing at all – I'm just keep doing my stuff and mostly I’m just forgetting about that. (Maybe the reason is that I have no time to think about that).
To be honest, i don't have any opinion. I'm not sure if it is neccessary or not and i didn't considered that. I grow accustomed. It is what it is. There is no reason to change it.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Nope. I don't even know when the time changes. It is always suprise for me. It is even better suprise when i can sleep one more hour. During the winter, when the sun goes down very early, "one more hour" is very nice accent and it improves my mood.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As i said, i don't experience any issues so i don't have to deal with the effects.
I think changing time is okay if we are all expecting it if we are used to it but also not changing it is not a big deal to my knowledge. I am not really qualified enough to give an accurate opinion but if I had to choose I will stay with the current system of changing time.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Yes, I do experience some of them like feeling tired but I might have not paid too much attention to notice others. But I know that my skin gets dry in winter more than in the summer and I’m required to use more lotion on my body.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I really don’t do too much I just adapt to it. the first week I feel tired but after some time I'm back on track.
I don't really see any deeper sense to change the hours. Every change brings with it some kind of convection, and the simple things should always be the same anyway. After all, you cannot change the time. Nonsensical manipulations. So, in the end give up.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
As far as my well-being is concerned, I am lucky that the exchange does not affect me in any way. Probably because I don't have fixed hours when I go to bed. Nevertheless, I know that some people have big problems with it, resulting in headaches and other unpleasant ailments. Such people need a little more time to change to acclimate to the time change.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As I mentioned before, for me personally it does not make any difference to my well-being. For those who have problems with it, it may simply be worth forcing yourself to go to bed an hour earlier or later. I hope that such a thing may be enough to fight to this problem.
I can't see a reason to keep changing the time. I think that we should give up on it ASAP.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Most of the times I don't experience them at all. But sometimes I feel irritated or have trouble changing my sleeping hours.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
As I said I experience these kind of problems rarely, but when I do, I don't think that there is something I can do. i just wait for my brain to adapt to the change.
The economic effects made much more sense when the time change was first introduced. Today's society with their computers, TVs and all the electronic equipment uses huge amounts of energy, no matter if the sun is up or not - I think it's safe to say that the electricity saved from daylight saving time is negligible.
Personally, I think time change has any negative impact on my health or mood, the only thing that I notice is the fact that it gets dark around 16. I sleep with my blinds closed, so whenever I wake up - it's always dark.
I really hope that in coming years EU will finally grow into the idea of giving up on time changes - I cannot think of any argument for keeping it the way it is.
Personally I hate time change. I have much troubles with going to sleep and waking up at specific hours. Time changes make my sleep life even more complicated.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
It affects me, I suffer longer than week from this jetlag. For these days I have troubles with estimating my time what is left to do something. I feel deconcetrated all the time.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I usually wait until it kinda disappear, but it takes some time.
I don't have a sure opinion on this. On the one hand, the change of time slightly improves the comfort of living in the winter season, while on the other hand, it brings large losses and confusion in many branches of the economy. It seems to me that the bit of comfort is not worth the price.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I don't experience them at all.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I do not do anything. If it weren't for the fact that I wear watches in which I have to manually change the time, I probably wouldn't even notice it.
1.What do you think about the time change? Should we keep moving watches or give up?
Give up. I have problems after each change. I feel bad after it all the time.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I have headaches for a week after. So I personally will feel better if we will stop changing the time.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I think that my brain and body just get used to it. And finally i can't really notice the difference .
2. I don't experience any issues but still I think this something we could get rid of in our lifes. Altough I knwo people that need time to adjust after time change and that must be hard and frustrating. Why would you change time if you feel well, function good and basically this ruins your every day cycle.
3. I don't have any problems with that. My body instantly gets used to it, I do not have problems sleeping so in terms of it affecting me it is okay. I would feel very frustrated if I had a week long headache after time change so I understand people who are affected physically by it.
In my opinion the time change is bad. After the time has changed, the body needs to get used to it. This usually takes a week. In my opinion, such a change affects most people badly. The worst is the change to winter time, because when you go to work it is dark, when you come back it is also dark. Therefore, I believe that the time should not be changed.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Yes. I often have to sleep during the day in the first week after the time change. I have energy dips. I just feel like I don't want to do anything. And neither the time of day nor the weather is affected by it. In my opinion, it is because my body uses energy to be able to switch over.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I often have to sleep for a few minutes a day. It does not matter if we move the hour forward or backward. My body is used to regular sleep hours. When I sleep too little or too much, I feel tired and cannot work normally.
In my opinion changing time depending on the season is pretty much useless. All it does is bringing confusion about it. I know it is supposed to help in making days longer in the winter but honestly it doesn't really make a difference to me. This is really unnecessary.
2. Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
I haven't really ever experienced any issues like that. I can imagine how annoying that can be to people that have that sickness. Some people have exact timing of going to sleep and waking up and that might really break their life. The only thing that I experience is that every time it happens I have to manualy change time in my watches. That can be very frustrating.
3. How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I just got used to it. It's something I don't really take care of.
2. 2. Fortunately, he belongs to the group of people who do not feel the change of time. I don't see any difference in my functioning. All I notice is it is getting dark quickly, which makes me feel like I missed my whole day.
3. For me, this is a process that has no bearing on my well-being or anything else. So I don't have to deal with it because I don't have that problem. But if I had it, I guess I would be able to deal with these effects. I think a good way to do this is to get enough sleep and exercise.
I think it's the worst idea ever made. It's pointless to switch it back and forward. I think that we should stop movining clocks as soon as possible.
Are you experiencing the issues mentioned in the article, or are you lucky enough to see no difference when changing time?
Yes, I deal with problems mentioned in the article. I think this seasonal depression mostly. It's a nightmare.
How do you deal with the effects of changing time?
I don't. I just count time to summer change and then I feel a lot better. Winter is the worst time for me.