Scientists and medical experts agree: permanent winter time supports heart health, vascular function, brain performance, and immune strength. But why does it outperform other options?
Winter time returns this weekend, with clocks set back one hour. This brings earlier morning light and earlier evening darkness.
Read also: 'This is the effect of too little light on your health'
Research consistently shows permanent winter time's advantages for cardiovascular health, brain function, and immunity. Yet some still experience winter blues. How can that be?
Koko Beers, sleep expert at the Brain Foundation, notes: "Dark, rainy autumn and winter days alter our biological clock and hormone balance." This often leads to low mood, concentration lapses, and fatigue.
Doctors and scientists emphasize optimizing natural light to counter winter dips. Beers supports permanent winter time because "it aligns best with our day-night rhythm and minimizes sleep disruption. Winter offers more morning light, summer less evening light—and we need that morning light for our biological clock."
Morning light fosters alertness and a steady sleep-wake rhythm. Without it, the biological clock shifts later.
Beers explains: "With permanent winter time, the biological clock slows less, we gain more sunlight, and sleep better aligns with work and school hours."
