The British Sleep Society position statement on Daylight Saving Time in the UK

Megan R. Crawford*, Eva C. Winnebeck, Malcolm von Schantz, Maria Gardani, Michelle A. Miller, Victoria Revell, Alanna Hare, Caroline L. Horton, Simon Durrant, Joerg Steier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

There is an ongoing debate in the United Kingdom and in other countries about whether twice-yearly changes into and out of Daylight Saving Time should be abolished. Opinions are divided about whether any abolition of Daylight Saving Time should result in permanent Standard Time, or year-long Daylight Saving Time. The British Sleep Society concludes from the available scientific evidence that circadian and sleep health are affected negatively by enforced changes of clock time (especially in a forward direction) and positively by the availability of natural daylight during the morning. Thus, our recommendation is that the United Kingdom should abolish the twice-yearly clock change and reinstate Standard Time throughout the year.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere14352
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Sleep Research
Early online date23 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • Daylight Saving Time
  • Standard Time
  • circadian clock
  • circadian timing systems
  • clock change
  • clock time
  • sleep

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