Why ‘clock lag’ could be making you rough and grumpy today

Mother’s Day is meant to be about getting a lie-in, but there’s little chance of that today with the clocks going forward.

At 1am, the clock skipped forward to 2am, and the effects will be more far-reaching than just grumpily losing an hour of sleep.

While our watches and oven displays quickly adjust, our bodies do not – and scientists say the abrupt change is bad for us.

It essentially gives us ‘clock lag’ as a nation, as if we’d all taken an international flight.

Dr Jeffrey Kelu, an expert in circadian rhythms at King’s College London, told Metro that the health impacts of changing the time are profound.

This is because our sleep and waking are regulated by the 24-hour rhythms known as the body’s internal clock, as well as our metabolism and mood.

Dr Kelu said: ‘It’s not easy, but as scientists we want to put forward the evidence suggesting that removing Daylight Saving Time would be best for the general health of the public.’

While he believes more light in the morning would be better for health, even staying in summertime year round would be preferable to going backwards and forward every year.

Circadian rhythms are influenced by the hours of light and darkness, developed during years of evolution when humans had to rely on a campfire when evening fell.

While most may feel they get used to the new time within a few days to a week or so, the physical effects could be longer lasting.

What benefits are there to stopping changing the clocks?

‘Shifting time forward for around half a year is linked to chronic circadian misalignment,’ Dr Kelu said. ‘It is compromising health.’

Disruption is linked to metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, mood disorders, and even immunity.

He said it can take months for our bodies to adjust, with the worst affects seen in the spring – now – when we lose sleep and many struggle to get used to an earlier alarm.

A survey by YouGov this week found that the clock change in March has a big impact.

Over half of Brits said it affected key aspects of life, espoecally sleep, meal times, and energy levels. More than a third (35%) said their sleep schedule takes a hit, with 11% adjusting their bedtime in advance to cope.

Meanwhile, more than one in 10 (11%) struggle to know when to eat, while one in 20 (5%) snack more due to increased hunger.

The survey of 2,197 adults was conducted this month on behalf of recipe box Gousto, whose nutritionist Sarah Fancourt said clock changes can disrupt our hunger cues and meal times, ‘leading to more snacking, and cravings for quick-fix, less nutritious foods.’

Could the UK stop changing the clocks?

Such concerns have led to calls to drop DST altogether, although the topic is highly political, and plans to actually change things have been shelved for now.

Last time the clocks changed, in October last year, members of the British Sleep Society called for us to keep a permanent winter, at least when it comes to the time.

Dr Kelu said that sleep cycle experts almost all agree that GMT would be preferable to DST year-round becuase it allows for more light in the morning, aligning best with our own body clocks.

‘This is particularly important in modern societies, where prolonged indoor activity and evening exposure to artificial light tend to delay circadian rhythms, including sleep onset and natural waking, he said.

‘In the UK, for example, winter sunrises occur much later than in summer. Starting the day an hour earlier under permanent DST would further limit morning light exposure, compromising circadian regulation. This impact is particularly pronounced in northern regions of the UK, where shorter winter days are more extreme.

‘In summer, early sunrises largely mitigate concerns about reduced morning light, however, increased evening light under DST may delay sleep onset by suppressing melatonin and increasing alertness.’

Despite recent discussions focusing on the benefits of more light in the morning, previous moves to standardise time across the year have tended towards keeping summertime year round.

Keeping GMT constantly would be very unpopular with those who love long summer evenings, making the most of the sunshine post-work when they can enjoy it.

Traffic-related accidents go down slightly because of daylight savings, studies suggest, and crime overall such as break-ins and burglary goes down slightly with less cover of darkness.

What happened to the EU’s plan to stop changing the clocks?

Five years ago, there was thought to be an imminent change after the European parliament voted to scrap the custom of changing the clocks twice per year.

It came after a public consulation showed overwhelming support for choosing a time and sticking with it, with the time changes supposed to be ended by 2021.

The UK was expected to follow suit, with a leaked government email suggesting that the favoured time would be permanent summertime.

But here we are still tick tocking backwards and forwards, forcing our poor bodies to try and work out if we should be asleep or eating breakfast.

The plan ended up more complicated than it seemed, with arguments about whether summertime or wintertime should be favoured, and problems such as Brexit meaning the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would be in different time zones.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and discussions about clocks had to take a backseat to national lockdowns and travel bans.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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