Twice a year, the change of time messes up our body quite a bit and often leads to complaints. We give tips so that you can better survive the time change.
Table of contents
- How and when will the clock be set up for summer time?
- Time change is part of sleep robbers
- More health problems through time change
- Why is there a changeover to summer time?
- Mini jet lag stresses the body
- Tips to prepare the body for the time change
- Why has the time change not yet abolished?
It is turned again at the clock and the night shortens by an hour. But the time change stresses body and mind.
On the last weekend in March, the time has come again: the clock will be changed.
Despite EU further votes, it still exists: the time change. A relic from the 1980s.
To make matters worse over the "stolen" hour in spring, the change (with the "lost" and "gained" hour equally) causes health, because it messes up our biorhythm quite a bit. Sleep disorders, fatigue, concentration problems are the result.
How and when will the clock be set up for summer time?
In Germany, the clocks will always be switched to summer time on the last Sunday in March. More precisely in theNight from Saturday to Sunday, March 30th, 2025. The pointer will be presented from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. An hour is adjusted by the actual normal time, currently still titled as winter time so that it is light longer in the evening.
ASimple remarkwho helps us know how to change the clock:In spring you put the garden chairs in front of the door(So the watch is introduced and we lose an hour of sleep)And in autumn you bring them back into the house(So the clock is put back and we get the "lost" hour of sleep back).
Time change is part of sleep robbers
This has negative effects for more and more people, according to the result of a Forsa survey by the KKH commercial health insurance company compared to previous surveys. In the meantime, every third survey participant reports of problems in the morning in the days after the time change.
In 2016 it was only a fourth German who got out of bed with that. But alsoMiddleness and fatigueduring the day, as wellSleep problemsIn the evening, the respondents have increased over the years.
Overall, every second now feels negative effects on sleep behavior and well -being through the time change. In women, the problems due to the shoot on the clock occur significantly more often.
Reading tip:
More health problems through time change
This is also reflected in a further representativeForsa survey on behalf of DAK healthfrom 2021. Almost a third of the people in Germany have already found physical or psychological problems after changing the time. At 30 percent, this value is at the highest level of recent years.
The time change is superfluous and should be abolished, say over three quarters of the respondents. The clocks will be presented next Sunday. From then on, summer time applies again in all countries in Europe.
Why is there a changeover to summer time?
On the last Sunday in March, the clocks will be presented by one hour - the summer time. The clocks deviate from normal time for an hour.
The real reason: save energy. Unfortunately it turned out that this idea was not really as clever as hoped, because:
1.The real goal of the energy saving was not achieved
and
2.The time change was suspected early after the introduction of causing health complaints such as sleep and sleep disorders and difficulties of concentration.
Reading tip:
Mini jet lag stresses the body
The health disadvantages of the time change have now been known, have become more subject of studies and will probably remain. Because the inner clock of humans reacts significantly more sensitive to disorders than one may assume at first. So our sleep-wake rhythm is mainly based on a biological clock: the light.
With all the joy of the upcoming summer, the time change in spring is creating many people. And more than in autumn. Sometimes it takes weeks for the body to get used to the new rhythm.
There are symptoms similar to that after a flight to another time zone, albeit weakened. On the first day, the mini jet lag is in the form of fatigue, lousy mood and reduced performance.
Reading tip:
Tips to prepare the body for the time change
Fortunately, there are strategies that can be used to reduce the consequences of the time change. Ideally, you start preparing for a week (or more) before the changeover.
You can already start adapting your bedtime piece by piece so that the stolen hour does not meet you at once. However, some tips can also be used as SOS tips the day before if you did not have the time shift on the screen again.
- Hold on yours after the time changefamiliar daily routinefirmly. For example, there is always dinner around 7 p.m., then keep that with the new time. If you have children, then get used to them and your family slowly, preferably in 10- to 15-minute steps a day, to the new time.
- So that you can fall asleep better, you shoulddo without alcohol in the evening. AUch junction such as coffee or certain types of tea (also regardless of the time change) should no longer be drunk four to six hours before going to bed. Nicotine consumption should also reduce smokers in the hours before going to bed.
- Try,to stay active during the day. Regular exercise and sport not only promote the circulation, but also healthy sleep. But plan a time to come down for the evening, then it sleeps easier.
- On oneNapShould you forego the time before the time change, especially in the time of the changeover, but definitely on the day before the time change so that you can sleep better in the evening. If you don't get along without nap, you should really keep it short, 20 minutes maximum.
- Make sure yourBedroom not too warm and stuffyis, about 18 ° C are considered ideal. It is best to ventilate it again before going to bed.
- Our internal clock is controlled, among other things, via daylight. However, since only a few can be "kissed awake from the sun" (it would be just too late for most jobs and the start of school)Inventions such as light alarm clocknow very popular (See here at Amazon*). These simulate the sunrise and a sunset as required.
Anyone who is also familiar with tips for changing the time include companies that have set themselves the good sleep of people, such as the mattress manufacturer Emma. These are the most popular tips for changing the time of sleep professionals as a simple leaflet:
Incidentally, the popular mattress from Emma was in 2024Test winner at Stiftung Warentestand there is oneBuy selection of mattresses from Amazon*.
Why has the time change not yet abolished?
In the case of an EU-wide online survey in August 2018, 84 percent of the participants spoke in favor of the abolition of the time change. The EU member states therefore wanted to abolish them as quickly as possible. That was already considered for 2021.
But nothing will become of it for the time being. The problem: Europe cannot agree whether summer or winter time should be considered a normal time.
By the way, summer time ends on the last Sunday in October and we return to the current normal time, the so -called winter time. Then we get the "lost" hour back. A change is not in sight at first.
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We hope our tips will help you to survive the time change well. Do you have any more tips? Gives you to social media with us!
Important NOTE:This article only serves the information and does not replace a medical diagnosis. If uncertainties, urgent questions or acute complaints arise, you should contact your doctor or ask for advice in the pharmacy. Medical on -call duty can be reached via nationwide number 116117.
