Body & Mind

10 things you didn't know about daylight saving time

By May-Britt Mobach | #!31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:003331#31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:00-8Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631 27am31am-31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:008Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2026312026Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100008003amFriday=9#!31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam3#03-27-2026#!31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:003331#\/31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:00-8Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631#!31Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:33 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam3#

Last week spring, this weekend the clock goes forward, and for me that means only one thing: summer. Not in terms of temperature perhaps, but definitely in terms of feeling. Hello endless evenings.

Immediately starts the biennial conversation topic of whether we get to sleep an hour shorter or longer. I have a very simple mnemonic for that. Standard time is not fun, but as a consolation you get to stay under your warm duvet for an extra hour. And for that nice daylight saving time, you have to do something: sleep an hour less. Did you know that? Well, you probably didn't know this. Nice conversation topic (and something more innocent than this) for the coming days.

It has been 111 years since daylight saving time was introduced.

The Germans started it during World War I to save energy that could be used in the war.

Summer and winter time is internationally known as Daylight Saving Time and the idea is that you make the most efficient use of the available daylight by moving the clock forward one hour. Otherwise, it is light in the summer when you are still sleeping and dark again when you are still awake. This way you make better use of the lit hours and use less electricity.

America stopped changing the clock after a year and only reintroduced it during World War II under the leadership of President Roosevelt.

“This way you make better use of the lit hours and use less electricity”

The use of summer and winter time would save us hundreds of thousands of liters of oil.

There are many opponents who believe that we don't save that much and that it is very harmful to health.

The week after daylight saving time is set, many more accidents happen on the road.

There is a large group that tweets with the hashtag #stopdst.

This anti-group just can't agree on whether they want to use standard time or daylight saving time as the basis.

During daylight saving time, there are fewer burglaries. Seems like a great reason to keep that daylight saving time. That and those endless evenings...