The European Commission has proposed that the change of time before summer and winter be discontinued in the 70 states that we do today. This recommendation is made after knowing the results of a report on the effects it has on energy saving and people's health, and a public consultation that has revealed that 93 percent of Spaniards are against adjusting the clock twice a year. 84 percent of the rest of Europeans think the same as us.
Although the time change affects us all, the non-modification of the time would mean a relief for babies and children, which together with the elderly, are the age group most sensitive to changes.
The argument to vary the time: energy saving
It is clear that health is not a reason in favor of the time change. The debate about whether or not to change the time to save energy is long, although science has not been able to completely settle it.
The explanations that used to reduce energy savings seem to have become obsolete and are not proven. A study (California, USA) by the University of Berkley showed that saving electricity at night was offset by the growing demand for energy in the morning.
Alterations in sleep and food, irritability or tiredness
These are some of the consequences that the time change causes in the little ones, according to the AEP.
"The biological clock of children can take three to seven days to adjust, causing changes in sleep wakefulness, appetite disorder, anger, irritability, discouragement, attention problems or small changes in cardiovascular rhythm."
And putting them to bed before is not a good solution, according to the AEP.
“Children forced to go to bed earlier may manifest problems in falling asleep due to the presence of sunlight, which causes a deficit of sleep hours and, in turn, negatively influences school achievement, punctuality, assistance and attention level ”.
Why does it upset us?
The organism has a time regulator that is in the center of the brain and is regulated by sunlight and environmental stimuli such as feeding and physical activity schedules. This internal central clock adjusts a daily cycle that affects the levels of hormones and our entire body, explains the AEP.
Therefore, when you change the rhythm of the external light or the rhythm of the tasks, you can become disoriented and that is what happens with the time changes.
In the case of infants, their internal central clock It is operational from 5-6 months of age, and it is regulated through breastfeeding, since at night breast milk has a greater amount of melatonin, the hormone that facilitates sleep.
Does the time change affect all children equally?
Each person has their own genetic rhythm of adaptation to time changes and also influences the environment in which children live. Children with regular eating habits, exposure to natural light and physical activity, adapt with fewer problems than those without routines. In general:
Infants may experience alterations in their diet.
School-age children may have greater difficulty waking up. and attend in class.
Teenagers suffer a sensitive worsening of the quality and quantity of sleep because “They keep the bedtime before the change, which results in a decrease in sleep hours during adaptation to the new schedule”, explains the AEP.
Benefits for children if the time is not changed
If the proposal of the European Commission goes ahead, and is approved by Parliament and by the European Council, Each country can decide what time it wants to stay, summer or winter.
If we stay in summer time, in winter it would dawn later than we are used to and it would also get dark later. That would mean that our children could play or do more outdoor activities in the winter afternoons, something very beneficial for its development.
If we keep the winter schedule, more light would be gained in the mornings. Getting out of bed would be easier than if it were still night. The early risers would be less dramatic.
If daylight saving time is adopted, it may cost them more to get out of bed when it is not yet dawn, but in the afternoon they will enjoy more hours of natural light, which translate into Better mood and mood. Perhaps the melancholy of winter would be more bearable.
In either case it would not be necessary to delay or advance the time to go to bed, so would be avoided sleep disturbances, such as difficulties falling asleep, insomnia or nighttime awakenings.
Routine alterations involved in changing the time would also be avoided, so children could sleep better, and wake up in the morning in a better mood, without fights or bad faces at breakfast. And of course more punctuality when it comes to school.
If the time change is canceled, our children would be more awake to face the daily routine in class, where they would show more attentive and would be more participatory. Goodbye to the little naps on the desk.
If we catch summer time, they would face the duties with more encouragement, since they would not only be less tired, but also would take more time natural light at home to perform the tasks and would have more light time to play.
By maintaining their eating routine, at the same time, they would not lose their appetite or eat at a time, which translates into a greater energy to perform your daily activities and perform better in studies.
Too babies would be less irritable and eat better, because you would not change your sleep or feeding time, the routines that mark your daily cycle.
This October we will delay the clock
For now, the next night of October 28 (from Saturday to Sunday) it seems that yes we will change the time again: The 3 in the morning will be 2, because it does not seem possible that the decision can be taken before, given the deadlines of the European institutions.
Therefore, it is recommended that when the time comes we follow some recommendations so that our children suffer as little as possible: prepare them a few days before making a slow and progressive adaptation to the new schedule by advancing daily routines and putting them to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual.
Photos | iStock and Pixabay
In Babies and More | Summer time arrives: how does the time change affect children and what can we do to help them? Time change in children: consequences and adaptation, How it cost to get up today! Some tips to cope with the time change
