The time change still exists. The clock will therefore be changed again at the end of October. This can lead to health problems.
Munich – It’s that time again: An unpopular ritual in Germany is repeating itself. Standard time, also known as winter time, begins in October. Then the clocks are changed – like every year. An overview of what is important for the time change in October 2023.
The clock will be changed in October 2023: the time change should have been abolished long ago
With the time change, Central European Time (CET), or standard time, replaces summer time. To save energy, summer time was introduced in 1980. The plan: If the day moves forward by an hour, less electricity is used for things like lighting. That didn’t work because people needed more energy in the morning hours.
By now, the changeover to summer and winter time should have been abolished long ago. Back in 2019, the Parliament of the European Union voted to end the time change in order to relieve the burden on citizens. They wouldn’t have to ask themselves every year when and how the clock will be turned.
According to the EU Commission, other reasons for ending the time change include “negative effects on health, increased traffic accidents and a lack of energy savings”. Nothing has happened since then, the time change is still there. The member states should decide for themselves whether they want to keep summer or winter time permanently. There are fears of a “patchwork quilt” in Europe.
Time change in October 2023: When will the clock turn?
That’s why the clock continues to be turned twice a year: always on the last Sunday in March and in October. This means: On the night of October 28th to 29th, 2023, the clock will be set to winter time at 3 a.m. – i.e. one hour back. However, after the time change, the time does not have to be reset manually. Most smartphones or radio-controlled watches change automatically. Digital displays like those in cars, on the other hand, have to be adjusted themselves.
When? | On the night of October 28th to 29th, 2023 |
How is the changeover made? | Clock is turned back – from 3 to 2 o’clock |
In view of this, in Germany you are allowed to sleep an hour longer – an hour that you had to get up earlier in the summer. Whether this is so relaxing remains questionable. Because as Professor Klaus Westphal, medical director at the Helios Kliniken Kassel, explained, the time change can feel like mini-jet lag.
The time change in October 2023 can disrupt your internal clock
The internal clock, which regulates important processes in the body, is disrupted. According to the Institute for Aerospace Medicine, this cannot immediately adapt to the new local time, but must first get used to it. This can lead to, among other things, insomnia, reduced performance or increased fatigue.
But it’s not just people who can be confused by such a change. Accidents with wildlife also increase, especially in the darker seasons, “when the sun sets an hour earlier due to the time change at the end of October,” explains the German Forest Protection Association. “Because forest animals don’t care about the time. They orientate themselves on daylight and are particularly active at dusk – i.e. during rush hour traffic.”
For people, sleep researcher Jürgen Zulley recommends starting the appropriate adjustments early on. Anyone who otherwise has problems with the time change should better get up half an hour earlier the day before, bring meals forward and go to bed earlier in the evening, he explained Augsburg General. (cheese)
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