Who actually benefits from changing the clocks?

[shockwaze]

Kids up at 5:30. Pretty sure that the same thing has happened in many, many houses this morning.

It's just an hour, but so disruptive to children.

Who benefits? Winds me up every year.

When I worked in London I was told the GMT/BST system benefited Scottish farmers but maybe things have moved on and they have headlights on their tractors.

But shops and schools aren’t open at 3am, and people work until 5/6pm which means regardless of the hands on a clock most people can’t get up regularly at 3am just because that’s what time the sun is waking them.

And the problem is when we've decided as a society to do things. Not what time it is on the clock. We could start the day earlier.

I'm pretty sure the UK has some of the latest start times for schools in Europe.

But that would entail a huge amount of reorganisation for every single person in the uk, when really apart from the odd mum who moans about lack of sleep for a couple of days, things are totally fine as they are now.

But who cares about children in Scotland walking to school?

haven't read the full thread, so don't know if it's been mentioned, but time changes are pretty disruptive for people with dementia

It’s the once a year and for a few years at most.m if you’ve got little kids.

If we didn’t change the clocks back then it’s pretty dark up north in the morning.

historically it's for those working outdoors, including farmers but historically a high percentage of people would be working for half their working hours in darkness.

Now it's also geared towards energy consumption, people not up and about with lights and additional energy usage (according to google)

so we all benefit... even if your kid needs to readjust.

Scottish Farmers

EU surveyed several million people-overwhelmingly the message was leave the clocks forward. EU Parliament voted to do that. We’d hopefully have followed.

Then Covid and everyone is still messing about with the clocks. Stay on BST-get some free time after work pleeeeease.

We never really had this issue. We would keep our kids up a bit later on the Saturday night - it helped that a family member always held a Halloween party on that Saturday so it was always a late night anyway.

I always appreciated the extra hour the day after the party, I did this year!

Who benefits? My cat apparently, he seems to have gone back 2 hours and wakes me at 4 💀

Hello from St Lucia,

when I am here we are only 4 hours behind the UK and not 5. I like the change even when i am in London!

My kids benefit, at least for a few more weeks. They're walking to school in the light.

I benefit. It's not as hard driving to work at 7, if the run is rising. Going to and from work in the dark is hard. I'm too sleepy.

@CesareBorgia I remember this. It was awful. We all had to wear hi viz bands and sashes. Road deaths increased dramatically, especially in Scotland. But hey @shockwaze , if some folk get an extra hour in bed, who cares about a few dead children?

I belive it's do with farming, they would need ti be up early to get the work done. So when the clocks go back, it gets lighter in the morning, making working better. As someone who had ti be at work for 6 am, it does help a bit. You can tell in the new year when it starts to get lighter in the morning, if you aren't up and outdoors early you don't really benefit. So it will benefit care workers and people who are out and about early.

Scotland benefits. If we didn’t do the clock change our kids would be walking to school in the pitch black!

Clearly I'm in the minority but I like the clocks changing. It just feels like a nice summer/winter divide.

@Beezknees me too.

If the kids get up earlier it only lasts a few days. Mine never really did. We also just kept them up later.

When they go forward we eat tea extra early and make everything seem a bit later than it is.

I am north Scotland and while it doesn't make such a difference in November and December, when I go back to work after Christmas the lighter mornings are very welcome, especially when the roads are icy. Makes it much easier to see.

It might be dark going home but the temperature has generally been a bit higher in daytime so the roads are in a slightly better state than first thing.

i thought it was to help school children so didnt go to school in the dark.

Larks I think.

GMT is the actual time, BST is the clocks telling us it’s an hour later than it really is. More fun for the natural lark (for seven months of the year), more agony for us owls.

Can’t we have a part of the year when the clocks are telling us it’s an hour earlier than it really is - BWT? I’d love that. So at the moment it’s 7.15 pm GMT, but in BWT we could have this time as 6.15 pm - and not change the standard times for doing things. Bliss!

Disruptive to children? What planet are you on? Children wake up early regardless of the clocks going back or forwards. If daylight savings is something that “winds you up”… you have a great life!

One of the original reasons for the change was to benefit people like farmers who did have very early starts to the day but over time this has become less and less necessary but in a typical irrational and lazy way the practice has been continued much to the annoyance of many including myself!! 😡
I ABSOLUTELY hate it and am furious that hours of precious and beautiful daylight can be so casually taken from us!! Grrrrrrr!!! They should have a referendum to decide if the majority want to continue with it or not?! 🙄

Maybe with the present situation in Gaza right now you might want to appropriately rephrase your last question? 🙄😥

Not if we stayed in GMT. Or had GMT in summer and an hour back in winter.