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Everything You Need To Know About The Clocks Changing For Daylight Saving Time
Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Everything You Need To Know About The Clocks Changing For Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time is a controversial issue, but it does mean that summer is finally arriving

You might have noticed that there’s something different in the air lately - maybe you’ve started to notice there’s a smell of spring in the air or that you can feel the warmth of the sun on your face once again.

Well, starting from tomorrow – if you live in the US – you’ll notice it even more, as it’s time for the clocks to go forward as we continue to advance into spring.

Of course, there’s a good number of people who would do away with the time change altogether, believing it to be outdated and of no real use any longer, but it’s still coming.

The clocks go forward soon (Alamy)
The clocks go forward soon (Alamy)

Just remember – if you’re the sort of person that has clocks that don’t change automatically – you’ll have to move them an hour forward tonight before you go to bed.

You might even be better off doing it now, as an earlier bedtime could be in order given that you’ll be having an hour less of sleep.

Springing forward is always more difficult than falling back, as it can really throw off the body’s natural cycles.

So, when you get up tomorrow morning at – for the sake of argument – 7.00am, your body might imagine that it’s 8.00am, and the world will still be a bit darker because the hours of daylight have yet to properly advance.

Morning light is key for us, as it offers signals to our body that release chemicals that wake us up and keep us feeling more alert.

Globe (Alamy)
Globe (Alamy)

There are conflicting theories on why this is – it could be down to cortisol or the effect of sunlight on our amygdala, which is the part of the brain concerned with emotions.

Either way, an hour here or there might be a significant shift.

Still, it does herald the arrival of spring and – beyond that – summer, so it’s not all bad news.

Meanwhile, if you’re coming at this article from over in the UK, or in many of the other countries in the world that operate on Daylight Saving Time, you have a few weeks to wait just yet.

The clocks in the UK will change on March 27, sticking that way until the last weekend of October when they will fall back an hour.

Of course, if you’re in the US states of Arizona and Hawaii, by and large you can ignore all of this, as they don’t bother with any of it.

Still, it’s worth remembering to get that extra hour of sleep in anyway. We all need more sleep.

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Topics: US News, UK News