In a few weeks, we’ll change the time.
Twice a year we change the time. For the record, it was in 1975 that President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing decided that watches would be put forward one hour in winter on Greenwich Mean Time. Around the world, around sixty countries apply seasonal timetable changes. Several countries have abandoned it such as Tunisia, Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia… This highly contested measure was supposed to end in France but it continues to apply.
When will the switch to summer time take place in 2025?
The transition to summer time 2025 in France takes place on Sunday March 30, 2025. At 2 a.m., it will be 3 a.m.
Do we go forward or back an hour?
That’s always the big question. When we switch to summer time, you have to move the hands forward of our one hour watch (a complete turn as in the clock image below). When switching to winter time, we go back one hour. Specifically, Daylight Saving Time adds one hour to the time zone while Standard Time takes one hour away. Here’s a mnemonic to remember:
► The changeover to summer time takes place around the month ofA.V.ril, we A.V.ance therefore of one hour therefore at 2 a.m. it will be 3 a.m. (so we lose an hour of sleep)
► The changeover to winter time takes place in OctoberD, we Dtherefore goes down by an hour so at 2 a.m. it will be 1 o’clock.
Will this be the last time change?
The time change has become common to the majority of Member States of the European Union since 1998 but the system is increasingly criticized. At the request of the European Parliament, the European Commission organized during thesummer 2018, an online consultation. Among the 4.6 million Europeans who participated, 84% were against the time change. However, and in particular because of the health crisis, the text on the end of the time change is no longer on the agenda.
Since when has there been a time change in France?
The time change is a measure that was introduced for the first time in France in 1916, after Germany and the United Kingdom, with the aim of saving energy resources such as coal. She was abandoned from 1945 to 1975then was re-established in 1976, after the oil crisis of 1973 in the face of soaring oil prices. It was aboutsave electricity produced at the time mainly by fuel oil, thanks to one hour more natural sunlight in the evenings. In 1975, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing decides that watches will be advanced by one hour on Greenwich Mean Time in winter and by two hours during summer in order to reduce electricity use to light up. The decree of September 19, 1975 formalized the time change in mainland France. Overseas, the time change does not apply except in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Since 1998THE time change dates have been harmonized within the European Union. In all member countries, the switch to winter time takes place on the last Sunday in October and the switch to summer time, the last Sunday in March.
Some of us are particularly sensitive to changes in sleep patterns. To adapt smoothly, you must try to‘anticipate the time change by gradually shifting key moments of the day such as meals, bedtime, nap time or bath time for children…
► For summer time: Meals and bedtime are brought forward by a quarter of an hour 4 days before the change to summer time. For example, on the first day, we eat at 12:30 p.m., the second day at 12:15 p.m., the third day at 12 p.m. and the fourth day at 11:45 a.m. We close our shutters tightly so as not to be too disturbed by daylight.
► For winter time: we delay meals and bedtime by a quarter of an hour 4 days before the transition to winter time. We don’t hesitate to use a dawn simulator to make waking up easier.
“When we switch to winter time, we perceive the night earlier, our melatonin will be secreted earlier and we will want to sleep earlier in the evening, explains Dr Catherine Lamblin, sleep doctor. In 2-3 days, the body normally begins to get used to the new time.” In the days following the time change, “it is better listen to our body and go to bed when we feel tiredeven if it is not always easy with professional or family constraints“, advises Dr. Catherine Lamblin, sleep doctor. The change to summer time is easier on the body. A time change can disrupt the functioning of hormones and it takes a few days to get used to it.
