We have already passed the official start of spring – now there is only one event left to finally usher in the warm time of the year: changing the clocks to summer time! This is what will happen next weekend – on the night from Saturday to Sunday the clocks will be set forward to 3 a.m. at 2 a.m. That means: We lose an hour. For many people, this means physical stress: those who don’t cope well with the time change suffer from fatigue and jet lag. Sleep researchers are now revealing a simple trick that will make it easier to cope with the change to daylight saving time.
Great trick: This will help you get used to the time change more quickly
For many Germans, the change to summer time is a rather unpopular ritual. While in winter we are allowed to sleep an hour longer because the clocks are reset, in summer a whole hour is taken away from us. If you go to bed and wake up at the same time as usual, you will have effectively slept an hour less – and there are many people who cannot easily cope with this loss. The resulting tiredness can last for days if the rhythm is difficult to adjust.
But you can do something about it: sleep researchers recommend simply starting your own transition a little earlier. It is recommended, for example, to get up half an hour earlier on Saturday, move your meal times a little earlier and go to bed half an hour earlier. If you want, you can shorten the stages and start even earlier. Because: While it is a problem to lose an entire hour, according to experts, getting used to it is easier if it takes place in smaller bursts.
At the weekend the time is changed to summer time – we lose an hour as a result.Marijan Murat/dpa
In addition, all the things that promise healthy sleep should also help with the change. This means that anyone who gets used to a regular sleep-wake rhythm even on weekends and days off will be able to work better with such adjustment techniques and will not be completely thrown off track. A healthy lifestyle can help you get used to the time change more quickly. Good sleep also includes regular exercise, a balanced diet and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.
Do we still need the time change? This has been discussed in the EU for a long time
There has been a long-standing discussion in the EU about whether the change to summer time is really still necessary. According to the Federal Environment Agency, there are savings in one place, but increased consumption in another. For example, if people get up an hour earlier in the morning because of daylight saving time, it is slightly colder and darker, so the consumption of lighting and heating is higher. In the evening, however, it is bright longer, which is why the lights are switched on later.
And by the way: In Germany there is more complaining about changing the time than in any other European country. Three million of the 4.6 million participants across the EU in an online survey that got the topic rolling in 2018 came from the Federal Republic. Apparently people in this country have the most problems when an hour is taken away from them – but perhaps the sleep researchers’ trick works a little better. ■