In a major turn of events, Europe will turn their clocks back one hour this weekend, marking the end of daylight saving time (DST).
As per several reports, this seasonal time adjustment occurs twice a year, in the spring, clocks move forward one hour for DST, and in the fall, they return to standard time.
But the matter does not end there, health experts have revealed the hidden harm behind it which may have negative impacts on human health.
Recently, a team of sleep researchers issued a position statement, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, in which they are calling on the UK government to eliminate the practice of changing clocks twice a year.
The statement reads, “Restoring permanent Standard Time would mean our clocks would be closely aligned to solar time, and while it would mean earlier sunsets in the summer, there would be additional benefits to health from improved sleep and circadian alignment due to increased exposure to morning sunlight from autumn to spring.”
“If you aren't getting that morning light exposure then you're not regulating your body clock as well as you could be, and there's really sort of a specific time in the morning that you need that light exposure in order to help regulate your body clock, and that allows you to fall asleep early enough at night,” the statement added.
The researchers further elaborated that if you're losing that sleep at night, you're getting poor quality sleep, and poor quality sleep is linked to a lot of health outcomes, mental health as well as physical health.
Research also linked this issue to rises mental health problems and mood swings including an increase in suicide rates.
