THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
There is a decided spring in my step, now that I’m over losing that hour’s sleep as the clocks went forward. I’m delirah and excirah… delighted with the light of an evening – and it feels good to be alive.
The clocks going forward have time on their hands when it comes to our health. The extra light promotes more activity in the evening which is good for general fitness and, indeed, good for businesses – pubs, restaurants, late-night shopping. Numerous studies suggest that sunlight is good for you, with an uplift in mood due to higher levels of serotonin in your brain. So you can shake away the winter blues and lethargy and embrace increased levels of happiness and motivation that comes with more hours of daylight.
It’s good for the environment too, with people using electricity less with longer daylight hours. A bonus, given the rising, crazy costs of such and they go up, yet again, this month.
People generally feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the brighter days after clocks change. Apparently, sex drive increases – I say apparently – and carb cravings lower and the Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD) improves once people feel the effects of spring and the longer daylight hours.
Also, you can ditch all those heavy layers of thermal winter clothing needed to stave off the cold and rain and switch to lighter summer and spring attire. Although, please, men of a certain vintage should not be going around in shorts. My bugbear are those hordes of men who don shorts at the first sign of an Irish summer. More specifically men over a certain age, an age when they really should know better; who assail my senses with those visions of knobbly knees, bow legs or flat feet, pot-bellied or worse, attired in shorts of all shades and shapes that do nothing to enhance their standing in the community.
Here’s my rationale: if we men are planning on making a century, then the age of 50 is a speed hump we just have to get over. It’s like surviving a Wednesday during the working week; you can crawl under your office desk and sob, or you can be a man and face your demons. The best knack to getting over the middle of your life is to do it with as much grace and elegance as possible. So, no shorts, please. As Bart Simpson would say, eat them…
(Okay, okay, I admit it: I have a pair of torn jeans somewhere at the back of the wardrobe and I have a collection of Converse footwear that would have been the envy of Imelda Marcos but I draw the line at wearing shorts in a summer that is Ireland).
So now, winter is behind us and the summer is coming. Okay, we can’t guarantee the weather will be perfect, but it’s generally on an upwards trend with warming air and less horrid conditions to contend with.
Meanwhile, the Canary Islands, along with the rest of Spain, will bid farewell to the biannual clock changes that have marked the country’s timekeeping for decades. Starting in 2026, the practice of adjusting the clocks forward in March and back in October will become a thing of the past.
For years, Spain has adhered to the twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks, aimed, like the rest of us, at maximising natural daylight and reducing energy consumption. However, in recent years, this practice has faced mounting criticism. Many questioned not only its effectiveness in saving energy but also its impact on health, productivity, and overall well-being.
One of the most significant benefits, the Spanish argue, of abandoning clock changes is the potential improvement in sleep patterns and mental health. Many people struggle with the shift in daylight hours, leading to sleep disturbances and a misalignment of the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
The end of clock changes in the Canary Islands has now been confirmed by the Official State Gazette (BOE). While the change will officially take place in 2026, there had been speculation about an earlier implementation if a consensus between experts and citizens could be reached.
Although this consensus was not achieved, the Canary Islands, with their unique time zone and geographical location, were always considered a likely candidate to adopt the change before the rest of the country.
