As autumn sets in and the nights start to draw longer, it's finally time to officially say goodbye to British Summer Time.
asserted
it → set → Time
At 2.00am this morning, Britain wound back the clocks and dragged the country into another five months of Greenwich Mean Time.
asserted
Britain → wind → Time
But while you might have enjoyed the extra hour in bed, many countries around the world have already abandoned the annual time shift.
uncertain
countries → enjoy → shift
Now, experts are joining a growing chorus of calls for Britain to join them.
asserted
Britain → join → them
About half of all countries in the world that once observed DST have now given up on setting back the clocks.
asserted
that → observe → clocks
In the last 10 years alone, Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Namibia, Russia, Samoa, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay and most of Mexico have all ended the practice.
asserted
Azerbaijan → end → practice
Today, only about a third of countries worldwide currently observe the practice, with the remaining 139 nations all keeping one time zone all year round.
asserted
nations → observe → zone
Britain first introduced DST in 1916, during the height of the First World War, to save fuel used for lighting by making the most of the long summer evenings.
asserted
Britain → introduce → evenings
There was a brief attempt to ditch the practice between 1968 and 1971 when the country experimented with keeping British Summer Time all year round.
asserted
country → be → Time
However, the experiment was abandoned after complaints about cold, dark winter mornings, particularly in the north of Scotland.
asserted
experiment → abandon → Scotland
And so, the UK has been resigned to being one of a dwindling number of countries that shift the clocks back and forth every year.
asserted
that → resign → clocks
Memes have poured out on TikTok from Brits horrified to be working the night shift as they watch the clock fall back to 1am, and from others who woke up surprisingly chipper without realising they'd got another hour in bed.
asserted
they → pour → bed
TikToker Maria Murdoch wrestled with her circadian rhythm being disrupted by the extra hour, posting a video from her bed saying: 'Hello to everyone awake because getting an extra hour's sleep was not gonna work with our body clocks'.
asserted
getting → wrestle → clocks
Another parent TikToker Cozy Crew Club posted a video with the caption: 'Clocks go back tonight, which means an extra hour in bed.
asserted
which → post → bed
Unless you've got kids.
asserted
you → get → kids
TikTokker Maleehah.px spoke to her followers, saying: 'I hate it when British Summer Time ends, but my God, did I have the best night's sleep last night.
'
asserted
I → speak → sleep
Look at my eyes, I've got sleep marks on my hands.
asserted
I → look → hands
That extra hour came in clutch.'
asserted
hour → come → clutch
The practice is mainly maintained in Europe, where the majority of countries still change the clocks every spring and autumn.
asserted
majority → maintain → clocks
But even in this stronghold of DST enthusiasts, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia and Turkey have all ditched the practice.
asserted
Armenia → ditch → practice
Egypt, meanwhile, has the rather odd claim to fame of being the only country in Africa to use DST as well as being the only country to end and bring the practice back within the last 20 years.
uncertain
Egypt → have → years
The North African nation ditched DST in 2015, but brought it back again in 2023 as part of a government initiative to save energy.
asserted
nation → ditch → energy
The only other North African oddity is Morocco, which was on permanent DST, essentially setting its time zone to GMT+1, from 2018 until September this year, when the law was finally reversed after years of public outcry.
asserted
law → set → outcry
Many Brits struggled with the disruption to the circadian rhythm and vented about it on TikTok
However, some did appreciate an extra hour of sleep like TikTokker Maleehah.px
Britons are not happy about having the clocks go back this weekend, and experts agree that the practice should be abolished
DST
asserted
practice → struggle → Maleehah.px
is used outside Europe, mainly in North America and Australia, but these nations have the rather odd distinction of not using it everywhere.
asserted
nations → use → it
In Australia, DST is observed everywhere apart from Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, the Christmas Islands, and the Cocos Islands.
asserted
DST → observe → Queensland
Chile changes its clocks with the seasons, except for in the Aysén and Magallanes districts in the sparsely populated southern region.
Likewise, Mexico abolished DST in 2022 but ruled that Baja California and a number of municipalities near the US border could keep changing the clocks to stay in sync with their American neighbours.
uncertain
California → change → neighbours
Meanwhile, the US has one of the strangest arrangements, observing DST everywhere besides Hawaii and parts of Arizona.
asserted
US → have → Arizona
Arizona was given an exemption from DST rules because of the scorching conditions in the Sonoran Desert.
asserted
Arizona → give → Desert
During a trial of DST in 1967, people were forced to stay in the heat for longer and run their air conditioning for a greater period of time, leading to a spike in energy bills.
asserted
people → force → bills
The exception is the part of the state that falls within the Navajo Nation, which does observe DST so that it can stay in sync with the tribal lands in neighbouring New Mexico and Utah.
asserted
it → fall → Mexico
With so much of the world now turning its back on DST for practical reasons, experts are now calling for Britain and the few remaining holdouts to follow suit.
Professor Jagdish Khubchandani, of New Mexico State University, told the Daily Mail that he is 'of the general view that DST should be abolished'.
Scientists have found that setting the clocks back in autumn leads to an increased rate of heart attacks, strokes, and a surge of mental health problems
This is because a growing body of research has started to show serious physical, mental and safety impacts from changing the clocks.
Setting the clock back an hour might not seem like a big change, but many parts of the body are finely attuned to daily sleep schedules and any shift can induce a 'mini jet-lag' state.
Professor Khubchandani says: 'For physical health, there are several reports showing sharp surges in heart attacks and strokes.
uncertain
Khubchandani → turn → attacks
For mental health, people may notice episodes of depression or general changes in mood.
uncertain
people → notice → mood
'In our latest study, we also found that people with preexisting mental illness face greater risk of changes in mental health status following changes in the clocks.'
asserted
people → find → clocks
Likewise, research conducted in Sweden has shown that the switch is associated with a 10 per cent jump in psychoactive substance use.
asserted
switch → conduct → use
By comparison, that is the same increase in drug consumption that scientists have observed following serious injuries or car accidents in the US.
asserted
scientists → observe → US
Scientists have even found that the rates of dangerous and potentially fatal errors shoot up following the change.
asserted
rates → find → change
Some studies have suggested that the risk of fatal traffic accidents increases by around six per cent following the spring DST transition.
uncertain
risk → suggest → transition
Professor Andrey Rzhetsky, from the University of Chicago and author of a major review on the health impacts of DST, told the Daily Mail: 'The underlying cause is simple: the springtime switch is stressful for many people.
'
asserted
switch → tell → people
Possibly, because doctors are stressed and less focused, there is about a 10 per cent jump in problems associated with child delivery and maternal care.'
uncertain
doctors → be → delivery
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
