October time change: Daylight saving time returns, with an extra hour of sleep

BarcelonaEvery year we change the clocks twice: in spring we move them forward and in autumn we move them back. In theory, the goal is to align economic activity with daylight hours and thus save energy. However, in practice, many sectors question this change, arguing that the savings would be nonexistent or negligible, and that, on the contrary, periodically changing our biological clocks could pose health risks. In any case, in 2025, the second time change will take place on the night of Saturday, October 25th, to Sunday, October 26th, and will mean we sleep an extra hour: at 3 o'clock, the clock will have to be set back one hour (if it doesn't do so automatically) to return to 2 o'clock.

Although spring begins on March 20th, the time change always takes place on the last weekend of the month, and is common in all European countries. From that moment on, the sun will rise and set earlier. This means fewer hours of daylight in the afternoon, giving way to longer mornings.

Adapting to the time change

To better adapt to the time change, experts recommend gradually adjusting sleep schedules in the days leading up to it, exercising regularly, and exposing yourself to natural light during the day. It's also advisable to avoid caffeine and alcohol consumption, and screen time before bedtime.

Is the time change an outdated rule?

For years, the question of whether it is better to change early or maintain Always the same. The debate, in fact, reached the European institutions, which held a referendum in which 84% of citizens voted in favor of eliminating the time change. However, due to disagreements between Member States, the European Parliament postponed the decision in 2019, and in 2025, it still hasn't been postponed. What's delaying the elimination of the time change? Since the announcement of the modification, the measure has had strong supporters but also many detractors.

In 2019, each of the European Union countries created its technical committee with the aim of deciding their position. But everything that had been advanced came to nothing in 2020, coinciding with the pandemic. Since then, the project has been kept in a drawer.

The time reform proposals

In Catalonia, the time reform project, which was supposed to allow for the advancement, consolidation, and regularization of schedules to promote rest and work-life balance, stalled during the pandemic. The advisory board for this initiative advocated maintaining winter time to avoid starting work in the dark, which impairs the synchronization of the circadian clock.

In 2022, at a conference held in Barcelona, ​​a group of experts presented a proposal to eliminate time changes throughout Europe. After preparing a report, the experts determined that the best solution was to maintain winter time year-round. On the other hand, they determined that Western countries—including Spain and France—should permanently move back the clock and begin sharing a time zone with the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government created a group of experts to determine the pros and cons of maintaining or changing the time. However, the conclusions were not unanimous: some believed the time changes should be maintained, others advocated establishing winter time as permanent, and finally, a small group believed that daylight saving time should be adopted, citing the negative impact winter time would have on tourism.