Standard TimeThe change is happening today. In the night between Saturday, October 26 And Sunday, October 27Italians will have to say goodbye to daylight saving time and the clock hands will be moved back one hour, causing the days to become shorter in the evening due to early darkness. “It’s a change that has negative impacts on many fronts, including health and the environment.” The Italian Association for Environmental Medicine (Sima) and Consumerismo No Profit, who launched a petition to demand permanent daylight saving time from the government, were alarmed. “350,000 Italians want to stop the switch between daylight saving time and standard time and have signed the online petition launched on Change.org,” supporters of the project said in a note.

When does it change?

The time to move the hands of the clock will be this evening, Saturday, October 26: at 3 o’clock, it should be shifted to 2 o’clock, thus allowing an extra hour of sleep. But there are now those who disagree.

Effects on health

“Switching between daylight saving time and standard time has negative effects on human health,” explains Sima president Alessandro Miani. It completes its cycle in approximately 24 hours. Failure to respect these natural rhythms affects blood pressure and heart rate: Many studies have shown a correlation between time changes and heart diseases; Stockholm University reported +4% heart attack incidence in the week following the introduction of standard time.

sleep problems

In addition, “sleep problems are recorded in a significant part of the population, which have negative consequences on concentration and mood, and therefore on school performance, work productivity and personal relationships,” adds Miani. the decline of daylight saving time to standard time and an increase in road and workplace accidents: for example, during daylight saving periods, a decrease of up to -13% in pedestrian accidents was recorded, linked to increased visibility on the roads in the evening hours. Meanwhile, a study conducted in Australia even found an increase in suicides in the first weeks following the time change. Not to mention the possible consequences of crime: Along with standard time, the hours of dusk, when theft, robbery and other crimes are concentrated, are also getting longer.”

Petition

“We therefore demand that the Meloni Government commit to permanently abandoning standard time in Italy by adopting year-round daylight saving time,” concludes Luigi Gabriele, president of Consumerismo. Directive giving wide discretion to member states, hoping to ensure coordination between various countries to avoid repercussions on commodity exchanges and cross-border movements”.