Overview
- The clock change takes place overnight from Saturday to Sunday, with 03:00 becoming 02:00 and yielding an extra hour of sleep.
- Wintertime is the region’s standard time, whereas summertime was introduced later for economic and energy-saving aims whose benefits are now disputed.
- An EU push launched in 2018 to end seasonal clock changes remains unresolved, and the Dutch cabinet is awaiting a deeper European impact assessment before choosing a permanent time.
- Chronobiologists recommend permanent standard time, noting that clock shifts can cause a mini‑jetlag and disrupt sleep.
- Studies associate the switches with short-term rises in heart attacks and a slight increase in fatal traffic crashes, and wildlife-vehicle collisions can climb as human and animal routines fall out of sync.