Are you turning the clock in the wrong direction again? Here’s the truth about the 2025 time change

Every year, time rewinds twice. And each time it brings many questions: where are we actually moving the pointers? Forward or backward? And why do we keep doing this when modern technology already makes it so much easier? Time change is a phenomenon that affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. It often raises many health, economic and energy debates. What are the impacts of the clock change on people and society? And how should we actually approach the event?

Time change is not globally uniform. Different countries have different policies, some have abolished it in the past, some have even reintroduced it. In 2025, the practice of turning back the clocks will continue in many countries in the northern hemisphere, while other regions have abandoned it. More than 70 countries are expected to be affected by the change to standard time this year.

When and where will the clocks be turned in 2025?

In the US, daylight saving time in 2025 starts on 9 March, when the clocks move forward one hour, and ends on 2 November, when they go back one hour. In Europe, on the other hand, most countries will switch back to standard time on 26 October 2025.

Each country may have the change on a different day, but usually there is not a long number of days in between. Some large countries have suspended or cancelled the time change, for example Mexico has stopped advancing the clocks as of the end of 2022, in Asia most countries do not apply daylight saving time, and in Europe, although there are plans to end the time change, they have not yet been uniformly adopted.

When did the changes start and which time is the original time?

The idea of turning back the clocks dates back to the late 18th century. Benjamin Franklin jokingly suggested in a 1784 essay that people should get up earlier to save candles. However, it wasn’t until 1895 that the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson made a real proposal for systemic clock shifts, because he wanted more light in the evening to collect insects.

The first country to actually introduce a time change was Germany during the First World War. On April 30, 1916, the hands of the clock were moved en masse for the first time, as a way to save coal and energy. Soon after, Great Britain, France and other European countries followed suit, and later the USA (1918). After the war, the practice was partially abolished, but resumed again during World War II.

And which time is the “original” time ? It is standard time, which we refer to as winter time, the natural rhythm according to the longitude and movement of the sun. Daylight saving time is an artificial shift forward by one hour, which in the past was intended to bring energy savings. However, according to studies, these savings are now only around 0.3-0.5% of annual electricity consumption, which is negligible in the light of modern technology.

Physical and psychological effects of time shifts

Time change affects not only our clocks, but also our entire biological system, sleep, cardiovascular health and productivity. Scientific studies have long pointed out that the transition to daylight saving time (when the clocks go forward and we “lose” an hour of sleep) tends to be more challenging than the reverse. However, the transition to winter time is also complicated for the body.

In addition, the literature reports impacts on productivity and economic costs. Time changes increase health costs, disrupt work performance and may cause increased traffic accidents.