How does the time change affect us?

The reason for time change is none other than take advantage of the hours of sunlight and thus achieve energy savings by reducing the need for artificial lighting.

Since when?

The first time there was a seasonal time change for this reason was in the United States during World War I and the goal was to save fuel. However, the origin of this idea must be sought in 1784 when Benjamin Franklin proposed some measures to save energy, among which was to reduce the consumption of wax and candles.

The time change in itself it was regulated in many countries in 1974, from the oil crisis to take advantage of more sunlight and consume less electricity. In Spain the change of time is regulated by the Royal Decree in 2002, adopting the European Directive of 2001. Although the decree is renewed every five years, the European Union has already given this custom an indefinite character, claiming advantages in agriculture, hospitality and in energy savings (which could reach 5%).

Currently, the usefulness of seasonal time changes to save energy is debated among experts. However, it is a tradition that seems unlikely to be eradicated even if it turns out to be useless.

Similar to jet lag ...

Every spring we "lose" an hour, which will be "made up" after six months. In general, this change it does not affect our health or well-being at allBut it seems that for some people it is not easy to advance or delay their inner agenda.

When we make long trips, with time zone changes, we can also be subjected to disturbances in biological cycles, through what is known as jet lag. The seasonal change in time could, in theory, affect our body in a similar way to jet lag, in an intensity proportional to the change (in this case, only one hour): in spring it is as if we traveled to the east (we “lost” an hour), and in autumn as if we traveled west (we “gained” an hour). It is always more difficult to acclimate to "loss", that is, traveling east. So the time change in spring can be more noticeable than in fall (like experiencing an hour-long jet lag).

However, it is considered that going out at night and going to bed at 2 in the morning on weekends can influence our body as if we were making a two and a half hour time change, with the consequent effects on circadian rhythms (cycles of around 24 hours in which the organs fulfill their functions), much more than a change of an hour only twice a year.

How it influences

Some claim that the schedule change in an hour negatively influences your humor and mood, to your "body clock" and, in general, to your health. They are people who report changes in their sleep-wake patterns and transitory alterations in their well-being, with the appearance of dysthymia (depressed mood), drowsiness, irritability, nervousness, headaches and difficulties in maintaining attention and concentration. There are even people who have digestive complaints.

Several studies have investigated these changes due to the time alteration, and the results are divergent: according to some, the time change may have a weak effect on health, while for others the variation does not influence people's balance.

What do the studies say?

One of these studies, published in 2008, even found a link between time changes and the incidence of myocardial infarctions: they seem to have found that there is a significant increase in the number of children in the three days after the time change in spring. , while they found a decrease in the same after the fall time change; The authors interpreted these findings as a product of sleep deprivation on the cardiovascular system.

Another study, this one from 2007, stated that the circadian rhythms of the human body can have difficulties in adapting to sudden changes in the schedule, affecting various aspects of health. Other studies have linked the impact of the seasonal change in time with the suicide rate in men, while others have found that there is no relationship between the change in time and episodes of mania.

In another study, a decrease in traffic accidents after the “recovery” of the hour in autumn, while another registered an increase in accidents after both changes, spring and autumn.

Some of these studies seem to show that small changes in chronobiological rhythms could destabilize especially vulnerable individuals, especially those over 50 years of age, who could adapt to the new schedule in a period of about three days. On the other hand, it seems that children have an easier adaptation to seasonal changes in the schedule.

TIPS FOR COVERING THE SCHEDULE CHANGE BETTER

Some suggestions have been made for the possible psychological effects of the time change:

• Gentle physical exercise, such as walking or jogging, can help “advance” the internal clock by increasing the concentration of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain.
• Maintaining good sleep habits year-round, with regular bedtime and waking times also helps.
• Exposing yourself to bright light (sunlight) for an hour or two in the days after the jet lag may also help to sync up unstable rhythms.
• Modify meal times and avoid caffeine and alcohol intake.
• Melatonin: It has also been suggested that taking some doses of the hormone melatonin under medical advice for a few days could help regulate sleep-wake cycles in sensitive people.
• Adapt to the time change a few days before: especially vulnerable people can be advised to make small gradual and progressive changes of ten minutes each day, starting a week before, in the direction of the next time change.
• Set the time on medical devices: People who use medical devices with internal clocks are advised to monitor the correctness of the time change in all of them. These devices can be some pacemakers, defibrillators, heart rate monitors, glucose monitors, etc., although desynchronization of these would not pose any risk to health.