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Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 17:56
The changeover to winter time is on the horizon once again with the change happening at 3am this Sunday 27 October in mainland Spain. We will have to wind the hands back one hour so we will "gain" an hour of sleep. But, for some people, the time change may result in feeling sluggish, both physically and mentally.
Some people can take more than a day to adapt their bodies to the new timetable, where there can be repercussions on their ability to concentrate and react, implications for their physical and mental health and also for their professional development, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) pointed out.
"Our brain adapts quite well, but the impact of the time change can result in drowsiness, tiredness, or that the next day we find it harder to start sleeping and have a little cognitive dullness: being distracted or feeling tired," said Diego Redolar, neuroscientist and director of the faculty of psychology and educational sciences at the UOC.
Redolar said the reason for these sensations is that "there may be some dysregulation of circadian rhythms", as our brain is programmed to regulate every 24 hours the main biological rhythms, such as the sleep-wake cycle and the release of certain hormones, such as melatonin or cortisol. So, if we introduce a time change that involves altering that 24-hour period, the brain will need more time to readjust. "Normally, we need a day, from a physiological point of view, to readjust to the time change," Redolar pointed out. "But there are more vulnerable populations, such as the elderly or children, who may need a little more time for the brain to re-regulate these circadian rhythms correctly," he added.
Feeling tired, drowsy or mentally hazy, which some people experience during the day after the time change, can be comparable to a "hangover", but it is temporary and is simply evidence that the brain needs to adapt. "The impact that the time change can have on people's health is small," the expert added.
However, this is a controversial issue which, in Spain, led the government to fund a commission to study a reform on the official time. In the final report, they recommended avoiding a "hasty change in time zones until there is a shared consensus", and that residents are made aware about the pros and cons of a possible reform. According to the commission, after maintaining the current time zone for 80 years, the Spanish population is familiar with the current time zone and "there are not sufficient reasons to change it".
The European Union has been discussing for years the possible scrapping of the biannual seasonal time change. The European Council has already presented, in 2018, a plan to eliminate time changes, supported by the parliament a year later. The process is awaiting a decision by the council, where a qualified majority of member states is required, which has so far been resisted. For now, Europeans continue to change the time twice a year, inviting us to look at ways in which the population potentially most affected by these changes can reduce their impact on their daily lives.
Although the bulk of this depends on the body itself and the period of time needed to adjust, we can help make the process more comfortable and quicker, as explained in an article published on the blog of the UOC's faculty of psychology and educational sciences, in which Diego Redolar features as an expert.
Among the main measures are to respect our usual routines, especially when it comes to bedtime routines. Another tip for adapting to the time change may be to keep the mind occupied, something that some experts suggest we do through outdoor activities. Going for a walk is a simple way to clear the mind, but you can also opt for physical exercise and sport, or relaxing activities before bedtime. We can also pay special attention to food by choosing a light diet based on seasonal foods for that day of the time change.
The time change can be uncomfortable for the first day, but with a little adaptation we will help our brains to manage it better so we can turn the page quickly, the UOC added.
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