Standard time: returns sixty minutes on weekend

SUMMER AND EUROPE – In the summer of 2018, around 5 million European citizens participated in a consultation promoted by some northern European countries, with Finland and Poland in the forefront, on a proposal to abolish the obligation to move from one moment to the next. twice a year for member countries. Approximately 76% of the participants expressed their support, which is why a debate on the subject was launched within the EU, without reaching a decision capable of finding the favor of all member countries. However, it was decided by a large majority that the obligation to alternate between summer time and winter time will no longer exist: therefore, each State must decide before April 2021 whether adopt summer or winter time forever. Southern European countries seem more inclined to keep daylight saving time, while countries further north (which already have plenty of evening light during summer) could support daylight saving time permanently. Italy She has not yet spoken on the subject, but she seems inclined to keep things as they are, with six months of solar time and another six of summer. There Franceinstead, after a popular consultation, he decided to follow solar time throughout the year. Therefore, it is very likely that in the Old Continent there is a differentiated choice and an uncomfortable chessboard of time zones that could compromise the proper functioning and competitiveness of the internal market.

THE ADVANTAGES OF SUMMER – Having the hands advanced one hour in the summer months allows you to take better advantage of daylight, Savings on electricity bills. Terna, the operator of the national electricity grid, in a note issued precisely in view of the imminent time change, announced that in the seven months of summer time, Italy saved a total of 400 million kilowatt hours of electricity, equivalent to average consumption. 150,000 families annually, with an economic benefit for the system of 66 million euros. In terms of environmental sustainability, 205 thousand tons less of Co2 were emitted into the atmosphere.

THE DISASTER OF JET LAG – The sore point that the semester time change brings with it is the psychophysical discomfort of having to adjust to the new time frame. As a general rule, the discomfort is less in autumn than in spring because in this case an hour of sleep is gained while in spring it is lost. On a physical level the most frequent complaints are a little drowsiness and the need to realign the appetite and the urge to lie down. Since the hands move during the weekend, the advice is to take advantage of all the days available to gradually change our habits, meals and bedtime are brought forward a quarter of an hour. However, little can be done to remedy this problem. to the feeling of melancholy what we feel when we see darkness fall while it is still mid-afternoon, if not to fully enjoy the part of the day when the light is most abundant and plan some pleasant activities for the early afternoon. It can be useful improve home lighting providing new points of light in the different rooms of the house, and turning them on a little more so that our body understands that it is not yet time to go to sleep. We also try not to give in to the drowsiness of the first few days and not to anticipate too much at bedtime, to avoid waking up too early the next morning. In any case it is transitory disturbances, destined to disappear in a few days.