Thursday, October 17, 2024, 09:29
you need to be registered to access this functionality.
The time change in 2024 is just around the corner. It will be in the early morning of October 26 to 27 when we have to turn the clock back one hour to adopt winter time. A change that will be made at dawn, at 2 a.m., so we will ‘gain’ an hour of sleep. But, for some people, the time change can cause discomfort that will carry over to the physical and mental aspect.
«Our brain adapts quite well, but the impact of the time change can be having more drowsiness, tiredness, or having a harder time starting to sleep the next day and having a little more cognitive dullness: being more distracted or with a physical sensation of more tiredness, or even one’s mood can have an impact,” explains Diego Redolar, neuroscientist and director of the Psychology and Educational Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
Why is there a certain amount of fatigue after the time change?
As Redolar highlights, the reason for these sensations is that “there may be some deregulation of circadian rhythms,” since our brain is programmed to regulate the main biological rhythms every twenty-four hours, such as the sleep-wake cycle and the release of certain hormones, such as melatonin or cortisol. Therefore, if we introduce any time change that involves altering that twenty-four hour period, the brain will need more time to readjust. “Normally, we need a day, from a physiological point of view, to adapt to that time change again,” emphasizes Redolar. “But there are more vulnerable populations, such as the elderly or children, who may need a little more time for the brain to regulate these circadian rhythms correctly,” he adds.
In general, the feeling of tiredness, drowsiness or mental dullness that some people suffer during the day following the time change, comparable to a “hangover”it is a temporary process that simply shows that your brain needs to adapt to the new situation. “The impact that the time change can have on people’s health is small,” the expert reassures, emphasizing that it is a natural and temporary process.
However, this is a question controversy which, in Spain, led the Government to commission a commission to study the reform of the official time, which prepared a report on the matter. His response was that a “precipitous change in the time zones as long as there is no shared consensus and practical dissemination to our citizens of the risks and opportunities it entails.” As stated by this commission, »after maintaining the current schedule for eighty years, the Spanish population has developed an adaptation to that schedule and there are not enough reasons to modify it«.
In parallel, the European Union There has been a debate for years about the possible elimination of the biannual seasonal time change. The European Council already presented, in 2018, a project to eliminate time changes, supported by Parliament a year later. The process is awaiting the decision of the Council, which requires a qualified majority of the Member States which, until now, has resisted, which is why we Europeans continue to change the time twice a year. This fact invites us to know formulas so that the population potentially most affected by these changes can reduce their impact on their daily lives.
How to adapt to the time change
Although the bulk of the adaptation to the time change depends on the body itself and the period of time necessary to adjust, Yes, we can help make it a more comfortable and faster process.as explained in an article published on the blog of the UOC’s Psychology and Educational Sciences Studies in which Diego Redolar himself participates as an expert.
Thus, among the main measures that we can adopt, is respect for the usual routinesespecially those referring to the usual time of going to sleep. Another tip for adapting to the time change can be to keep your mind busy, something that some experts suggest we do through outdoor activities. Going for a walk is a simple method to clear your mind, but you can also opt for physical exercise and sports, or relaxing activities before going to bed. Finally, we can pay attention to nutrition by choosing a light diet based on seasonal foods for that adaptation day.
The reality is that the time change can be uncomfortable during the first day, but with a little adaptation we will help our brain to manage it better to turn the page quickly.