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I am good at remembering Spring forward, Fall back but my body is so confused for at least a week in the spring as we lose that hour. Autumn is easier for me but I can still feel it for four or five days afterwards.
Previously, EU law required all countries in the bloc to observe daylight saving time, moving clocks forward by an hour on the last Sunday of March and back by an hour on the final Sunday in October. In 2021, European Parliament voted in favour of ending daylight saving time in. At the moment I believe each EU country can decide whether to keep or abolish DST, though Sweden has not yet made a decision. In a public consultation before the EU decision, 84% of EU citizens polled voted in favour of ending Daylight Savings Time. I am not sure if any EU country has done away with DST but I guess actually putting it into practice would create huge disruption in electronic systems and IT programmes.
I really don’t see the point of DST in today’s society. There is no longer any energy savings because of new technology and ways of living. We no don’t need longer hours in the fields, or to save candles or coal. Sweden pitches from extreme darkness to extreme light during winter and summer, so the sudden change in light and darkness in spring and autumn just add to the bodily confusion. The outcome of extreme light/darkness is the same within a few weeks anyway, so it seems a lot of upheaval to go through for a few hours of light.
There have been links in scientific studies to diseases of cardiovascular and immune systems because biological cycles are interrupted. Increased traffic accidents during clock-shifts can be seen as well.
As far as I know, most countries outside Europe and North America do not adjust their clocks. South Africa, despite being quite a large country with quite different sunrise/sunset times, has only a single time zone. The difference between light and dark over a year would never justify DST.
