L’daylight savings time it is often linked to stress and fatigue and, in general, to health hazards. Experts are quite in agreement that moving forward one hour should be eliminated and they have years and years of studies on the increase in cases of heart attacks and road accidents.
For the first time in 40 years, however, things could change. The previous two years have had a serious impact on the physical and mental health of everyone, between the pandemic and the war, but with the arrival of summer, the mood should improve. Thanks to the light and the body’s response to the sun. Not to mention that, as the psychologists recall, with an extra hour of light there is time to increase the levels outdoor activity e Playing sportsactivities that are known to increase the production of serotonin.
That’s why in 2022 the effects of summer time could be balanced between positives, such as improved mood, and negatives, such as greater fatigue in the first week. It’s too early to tell, if only because the hands have yet to move forward. The change ofdaylight savings time I will take place this night, between Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March, between 2 and 3 in the morning.
An hour ahead can change the mood and more: that’s why summer time hurts
L’summer time hurts and it’s no secret. According to studies conducted by the scientific community in various sectors, summer time is the cause of altered states of physical and mental health. For example, the cardiovascular system is affected. Researcher Luigi Ferini Strambi explained that “during the week following the change of summer time there is a greater number of hospitalizations for heart attack and atrial fibrillation especially in women“. In a research on mortality rates from 1970 to 2018, experts noted that, in the first week after the insertion of summer time, mortality increased by + 3%.
Mental health is affected above all by stress and fatigue for an hour of sleep less, which for habitual people is a difficult step to adapt to, as well as for children and the elderly. “In the following days we will be more nervous, irritable and not perfectly efficient – explains Anna Maria Gianninidirector of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology of the La Sapienza University of Rome – Individuals suffering from anxious or depressive pathologies may have greater difficulties”.
The beneficial effects of summer time: what the experts say
First the pandemic, then the war. From 2019 it seems it is no longer possible to have emotional stability: isolation, social inhibition, altered habits and even fear. These are the symptoms listed by those who have seen each other in the last two years forced to take care of their mental health. But there is a natural remedy – which needs support in recognized cases of mood disorders – and that is light. Experts say the light acts from euphoric and predisposes to the perception of a state of psychological well-being. “The effects of light and dark are extensively studied with regards to general effects on mood”Explained Giannini.
Again Ferini Strambi wanted to underline that in 2022 the change of time will be less traumatic, since exposure to light will favor an increase in the sense of well-being from the very first days. Furthermore, exposure to light favors physical activity outdoors which, in turn, naturally increases the production of serotonin with positive effects on mood.
So yes, perhaps daylight saving time should be eliminated, but for now we can take advantage of the beneficial effects of more hours of light, taking advantage of opportunities to exercise and physical activity in the open air.