Spain calls upon Europe to ditch daylight saving practice, citing health concerns Arguments for, against the frustrating practice

On the last Sunday of October, around 35% of the world's countries switch to the daylight savings time system (DST), which was first instituted on a national level in 1916 in the German and the Austro-Hungarian Empires. Introduced as a practice to "save" one hour and reduce energy consumption, several countries have ditched the practice in recent years, including Azerbaijan in 2016, which, historically, has been a trend long following the practice.

This year, Spain has been pushing EU colleagues to finally do away with setting clocks back and forth after a 2018 EU pledge to ditch the outdated practice has failed to find unanimity, as an article by the Deutsche Welle recalls.

According to their reporting, the practice has been divisive, with proponents appreciating the "extra hour" won, while opponents argue against the potential disruption to sleep schedules.

A few days ahead of the time switch, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took to social media to revive the debate within Europe. In his call to permanently abandon the practice, he said: "Changing the time twice a year no longer makes sense. It barely helps save energy and has a negative effect on people's health and lives."

Noting lack of popular support for DST, Sanchez has previously vowed that Spain will seek to end the practice for good in 2026. Sanchez's video appeared at about the same time Spain's energy ministers were joined in support for DST abolishment by colleagues from Finland and Poland.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive, has wanted to ditch the practice since 2018, when a survey it conducted showed that 85% of Europeans were against it.

Then EU Commission President Jean-Claude Junker pledged to do away with DST at the time, but, as is so often the case in Europe, there is a lack of unanimity regarding whether to keep or kill DST, so, it remains.

The main sticking point to date has largely been whether clocks would be permanently set to summer or winter time.

A few days before the October 26 switch, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas chimed in during a debate in Strasbourg to say, "The Commission has decided to undertake further analysis through a detailed study that we are working on right now, to support future decision making on this issue."

"My goal," said Tzitzikostas, "is to move forward. The time has come to finally stop the seasonal changes of time every year," adding that the current system, "affects us all, frustrates most, and even, I would say, harms people."

Health arguments for abandoning practice

Research suggests that changing our clocks twice a year can have various health consequences, according to the Harvard Medical School. Of the two, springing ahead one hour tends to be more disruptive. That hour change can upset our circadian rhythms, the body's natural 24-hour cycles regulating key functions like appetite, mood, and sleep.

Circadian rhythms largely depend on light exposure. The hour transition in the spring initially causes darker mornings and lighter evenings. Less morning light can decrease levels of the mood-boosting hormone serotonin. In contrast, exposure to light later in the evening can delay the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep.

Many people also have trouble adjusting their sleep schedule to the new time. For the first few days or even a week, they may go to bed later or wake up earlier than usual, which can cause sleep deprivation. One study found that the average person gets 40 minutes less sleep on the Monday after DST begins compared with other nights of the year.

Historical origins

The first state-wide adoption of Daylight Saving Time occurred in the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, which both implemented the policy on April 30, 1916. This was two years into World War I, and the logic was to reduce the use of artificial lighting to save fuel and energy for the war effort. Seeing sense in the idea, other countries across Europe began to adopt the same practice. However, they returned to standard time after the war, with Daylight Saving Time relegated to a wartime phenomenon.

The practice was implemented again during World War II by the Germans, who spread it to many countries under Nazi occupation, including Denmark and Poland, but ditched it again soon after.

DST was then reintroduced amid another world crisis, namely the oil crisis of 1973. In October of that year, the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an oil embargo, causing energy prices to skyrocket. With energy savings once again high on the agenda, France was the first to revive DST in 1976. By the end of the 1970s, most of Europe was back in the habit of changing the clocks twice a year.

By Nazrin Sadigova