People would be happier if we ‘slept in a permanent winter’ due to clock changes

There are calls for the clocks to never to go forward again after they go back by an hour this weekend.

Our current system is bad for our sleep, researchers said, and makes it hard to regulate our circadian rhythms which are influenced by daylight levels.

The government should stick to one time year round – and it should be the winter one, they said.

Members of the British Sleep Society (BSS), a professional organisation for medical, scientific and health workers, said evidence clearly shows that natural daylight in the morning is good for sleep patterns.

The society has issued a statement in the Journal of Sleep Research, saying it ‘strongly recommends’ that Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) runs throughout the year.

This may come a surprise, given that previous discussions on changing our system have focused on moving the summer schedule permanently to give more hours of daylight in the evening.

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

A government official was said to have emailed a colleague: ‘My impression… is that officials’ advice is likely to be in favour of adopting British Summer Time all year.’

British charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says that keeping summertime permanent could save ‘many lives’ as fewer would be injured on the roads in dark evenings.

And few enjoy the experience of leaving work or school to find it’s already like night.

But the sleep researchers argued that circadian rhythms – the physical, mental, and behavioural changes we experience over 24 hours – are most impacted by clocks moving forward in the spring, when we lose light in the morning.

The statement comes from academics from across the UK, led by Dr Megan Crawford of the University of Strathclyde, Dr Eva Winnebeck of the University of Surrey, and Professor Malcolm von Schantz of Northumbria University.

Prof von Schantz said GMT ‘aligns closely with the natural light-dark cycles of the day and night’ and ‘natural daylight in the morning is crucial for maintaining an optimal alignment of our body clocks with day and night, which is essential for optimal sleep and overall health’.

He added: ‘Restoring permanent Standard Time (GMT) 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.’

Dr Winnebeck said: ‘What we often don’t realise is that Daylight Saving Time (BST) changes our schedules, moving them forward by one hour while daylight remains the same.

‘It forces us all to get up and go to work or school one hour earlier. In seasons with fewer daylight hours such as now in autumn, it means most of us have to get up and commute in the dark.’

Dr Crawford said there is a ‘misguided idea from a sleep and circadian health perspective’ that clocks should move permanently forward.

‘Mornings are the time when our body clocks have the greatest need for light to stay in synch,’ she said.

‘At our latitudes, there is simply no spare daylight to save during the winter months and given the choice between natural light in the morning and natural light in the afternoon, the scientific evidence favours light in the morning.’

It is understood the Government has no plans to change the daylight savings system.

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