On 30 March 2025, Europe will switch to Daylight Saving Time (DST), moving clocks forward by one hour. While many people enjoy longer evenings, scientists in sleep and circadian research argue that DST can be harmful to our health. In this episode, we dive into the controversy surrounding DST and answer three key questions:

Why do chronobiologists want to get rid of DST?
What does the evidence say about DST’s impact on road traffic accidents?
What does the public think about abolishing DST?

We hear from experts, including Prof. Till Roenneberg, Prof. Sara Montagnese and Prof. Andrew Coogan, to break down the scientific and political debates around DST. Plus, we explore the short- and long-term health effects of DST on our health, the challenges of assessing this impact, and why public opinion seems to contradict expert recommendations when it comes to clock changes.

Timestamps

(02:11) DST and time zones
(04:12) What happens to our clock when we change to DST
(05:35) Short- and long-term consequences on DST
(07:51) DST and social jet-lag
(10:10) Challenges of studying DST effects on our heath
(11:05) DST and driving performance
(13:45) DST and road traffic accidents
(17:37) Geography matters
(20:30) What does the public think about clock changes?
(23:15) Results of survey on public opinions in Ireland
(26:20) Wording matters: Summer time/Winter time
(30:24) Is this the battle chronobiologists should fight?
(33:00) Summary and outro

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Season 3 – Episode 1: Tick-tock trouble ...