Summer time started again last weekend. This happens every year in the last weekend of March. We then all set the clock forward an hour. Why are we doing this? Is this still necessary?
What is summer and winter time?
In 1977, the Netherlands officially used summer time. From then on, the clock went forward every March and back every October. Nowadays we are used to it, but that wasn’t the case. You may think that every time has 6 months, but nothing could be further from the truth. Summer time can be enjoyed for one extra month.
Why summer and winter time?
In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of ​​changing the clock. He saw that Parisians were still sleeping when it was already light and still working when it was already dark. He thought she wasted a lot of candlelight by not using the sun optimally. Benjamin wrote a lot about it, but little was done with it. It was only during the First World War that a country adopted daylight saving time. This was Germany. She noticed that they were running out of energy quite quickly and so chose to move the clock forward an hour. The Netherlands did that too, even though we were neutral in this war. We saw that this way of saving energy was quite smart.
In 1946 we stopped using summer time again, probably to be truly independent. In 1977, summer time returned, because almost all of Europe had already switched. Since then we have known summer time. These times are therefore designed to save energy. First the unnecessary burning of candles, then coal, wood and other energy sources.
Is it necessary?
There have been several discussions in the cabinet about abolishing summer and winter time. Winter time is the ‘normal’ time that everyone knew before using it. One of the biggest reasons that time hasn’t changed yet is the countries around us. The Netherlands would like Europe to stay the same time. According to the government, there is not yet enough research to determine which option is best. The current way, always winter time, or always summer time?
There are several disadvantages that may be related to the time change. One of the biggest is your sleep. Because you sleep at a different time every six months, it is difficult to really maintain a rhythm for a long time. Getting used to this new time is also difficult for some. It is light outside for longer, which your body sometimes really struggles with. You then miss valuable minutes of sleep, which turn into hours. Furthermore, during summer time you often sleep late. You get tired later, which results in sleeping later. If you don’t tackle this quickly, you will get used to this ‘new’ rhythm.
Various studies come up with even more disadvantages. For example, there are studies that see a link between the number of heart attacks and the change over time. They say that more heart attacks occur in summer time than in winter time. Other studies claim that the change in time is causing more fatal traffic accidents, even though this growth is sometimes minimal.
