That's because in many nations,  the clocks spring forward by one

hour from the end of March to the end of October.

It's called daylight saving time,  and it affects more

than one billion people.  But recently, several nations

have proposed scrapping it, including the European Union. 

So how did seasonal clock changes come about, 

and should we be getting rid of them? 

  In most countries, the standard 

timezone is generally in sync

with the sun. For example, midday is roughly when the

sun is highest in the sky, with equal amounts of daylight

either side. But for about 70 countries around the world,

this isn't the case for roughly  half the year because of daylight

saving time, which is the method of moving clocks forward during

warmer months so that darkness falls at a later time.

  Towards the end of March,

countries in the northern

hemisphere set their clocks ahead by one hour to push

sunsets later in the evenings and sunrises

later in the mornings.  Then, in late October, 

they are wound back by an hour, subtracting an hour of daylight

from the evening and making  the early mornings brighter. 

In the southern hemisphere,  the reverse occurs, with their 

daylight saving time taking place during their summers. 

 The idea of daylight saving was originally proposed by

New Zealander George Hudson in 1895. He was a scientist

studying insects and wanted  to take advantage of the

extra daylight in the summer to hunt for bugs. 

 The idea didn't catch on at the time, but at

the start of the 20th  century, a successful

British builder called  William Willett published

a pamphlet called, 'The waste of daylight.' 

Willett proposed moving the clocks forward by 80 minutes

in 20-minute weekly increments. 

His campaign even gained the support of Winston 

Churchill, but Willett  died in 1915 before

his plans were realized. 

 William Willett was a keen golfer and wasn't a fan of

cutting short his round at dusk. 

He argued that several hours of sun were being

wasted while we slept and that we should use more

of it, along with the nice summer weather, to pursue

leisure activities after work.  However, when daylight

saving was finally adopted, it wasn't

to enjoy long the summer evenings. 

 In 1916, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire 

were the first countries to  implement daylight saving 

during the first world war.  The aim was that by adjusting 

the clocks forward,  less electricity would

be used for lighting, thereby  conserving coal which could

instead be used to power production

towards the war effort. 

 The U.K. followed suit a month later while the

U.S. adopted it in 1918, which was claimed to

have saved the United  States $2 million in gas 

bills at the time, or around  $33 million when

adjusted for inflation.

Turning on the lights an hour later may have saved 

a lot of energy a hundred years ago, 

but industrialization and  technological advances 

mean that lighting  is a smaller part

of our overall energy consumption. 

 A 2017 study found that moving an hour of daylight

to the evening reduced electricity usage by an

average of just 0.34%.  Places further from the

equator, which experience  the biggest change in 

daylight, were more likely to save energy 

with daylight saving.  But this was offset by 

countries closer to the equator. 

Longer sunlit evenings  in hot countries usually 

result in more time spent indoors, pushing up 

electricity consumption  due to the need for air

conditioning and the growing number of

household  electronics. 

 The use of daylight saving continues to split opinion. 

Some countries are even  divided about the annual

ritual within their borders. 

  In the U.S., Hawaii and Arizona — states that

already get a lot of sunshine — are the

only two that haven't adopted daylight saving. 

Within Arizona, however,  it's even more confusing,

as there are territories and reservations which

don't have seasonal clock changes. 

There are also divides in  Australia, where three

out of the eight states have not adopted daylight 

saving; Brazil, where  daylight saving is only

used in the south of the country which lies

furthest from the equator;  and Canada, where the

province of Saskatchewan doesn't have seasonal

clock changes, unlike the rest of the country. 

 But the European Union is planning to keep things

simple by getting rid of daylight saving altogether. 

 In 2019, the European Parliament voted to scrap 

daylight saving time across all member states from

2021 following a poll showed EU residents 

were keen on the move. 

However, supporters and critics of seasonal clock

changes are divided about its effects.  

 For instance, daylight saving reduces road

traffic accidents — which  are more likely to occur 

after dark — by an estimated 13% in 

pedestrian fatalities and 3% fewer deaths among

those traveling in vehicles.  However, a study in the U.S. 

found that during the week  immediately after the clocks

go back in the fall,  there is an uptick

in fatal car crashes by 6%. 

Research has also shown that immediately after

the clocks go forward in  spring, the risk of heart

attacks and strokes grows by 24%, which some 

attribute to the loss of an hour of sleep.

Conversely, when the clocks go back in autumn, 

the risk falls by 21%. 

And a study of people diagnosed with depression 

found that the end of  daylight saving time saw 

an 11% increase in depressive episodes, 

thought to be caused by  disruption to sleep

patterns and  darker evenings. 

 Studies also suggest that daylight saving causes a

fall in evening TV  viewership and 

increased physical activity.  The brighter evenings are

also popular with retail  businesses as it encourages 

people to shop  more in the sunlight.  

 According to opinion polls, it's not the distribution of 

daylight hours that voters resent, but rather, the 

one-hour transition  itself which many

see as  inconvenient. 

In both the U.S. and the U.K., surveys suggest

significant opposition to  the changing of the clocks. 

The further you travel from the equator, the

greater the change in daylight hours between 

seasons and the  significance of the 

impact of daylight saving  increases. However, for

those countries furthest from the equator, cutting

short the mornings of  already very short days

in the winter would be extremely unpopular. 

Although the EU'S switch away from seasonal clock 

changes has been postponed due to

the pandemic, the decision taken in the European

parliament suggests the move will happen soon. 

With around 80% of the global population not using 

daylight saving time and  many of the original reasons 

for implementing the change  no longer relevant, the clock 

appears to be ticking for daylight saving.

Hi guys, thanks for watching our video. We'd love for you

to subscribe but before you do that we want to know your

thoughts on daylight saving. Does it benefit you or does

it hinder you? Do you get one more hour of sleep or

do you have to go to school in the dark?

Comment below the video to let us know

and we'll see you next time.