“Maintain daylight saving time all year round and yes to the short week at school”. In these difficult times of energy crisis and stellar increases in the bill, “the invitation is to follow these two paths that combine benefits for the well-being of children and help energy savings”. Word of Italo Farnetani, full professor of paediatrics at the Ludes-United Campus of Malta, who in recent days had expressed astonishment that the summer time issue was not at the center of the pre-election debate.
“I also disagree about not having closed schools on Saturdays – he explains to time.news Salute – as there would have been undoubted energy savings, without damage to the pupils. Socialization, school in the presence, group attendance of peers are aspects that are not altered, as they are insured for 5 days, while one more day in the family would have been privileged. For decades now, Saturday is a day in which many parents, at least one, do not work, classically it is dedicated to visit to grandparents, who often look after their grandchildren when their parents work “. The short week is therefore also configured as “an opportunity to strengthen the family relationship at all levels, with significant energy savings”. Precisely to privilege moments in the family “one should not give homework on the weekend”, she adds, “an indication that is now almost totally disregarded”.
As regards daylight saving time, according to Farnetani “on October 30 the hands of the clock should remain in place”. In the first place “for the health of the little ones. But not only”. The topic, highlights the pediatrician, “should be taken into consideration right now, in the midst of the energy crisis, when all the options and possibilities for saving energy and reducing bills are being evaluated. In these 7 months in which there is in Italy it was the summer time, about 200 million euros were saved, calculations made in March, but today with the hike in tariffs the savings will be even higher. This is one more reason why we can keep the summer time for everything the year”.
The debate, continues Farnetani, “has been going on for years. I was one of the first to propose the maintenance of summer time starting from a motivation linked to health. ‘Falling asleep and waking up cause stress for the organism with the need for adaptation. And this determines symptoms in a large segment of the population. health. The second reason is that, especially during the winter, an extra hour of light allows you to be more outdoors, meet people, do physical activity and therefore fight a sedentary lifestyle, overweight and obesity “.
This extra hour of light, continues Farnetani, “is particularly useful for pupils, who often have to do their homework in the early afternoon or stay in the classroom for those who attend full-time. ‘is the significant energy saving and cost reduction “. In the light of these arguments, he continues, “I am amazed that the maintenance of summer time all year has not been debated at the election campaign level. It has also been talked about at European level for years, even if the Union has left the choice and the decision to the single States.
In any case, the pediatrician specifies that the starting point of his proposal remains that of health and the need to “respect the body’s circadian rhythms”. Altering these rhythms and forcing the body to adapt in babies can lead to “sleep disturbances that are reflected in mood changes,” he concludes.