Suche
Mein Konto
Time change is finally over! So we experience the return to winter time
Daylight saving time ends on October 25, 2025: clocks will be set back by 1 hour. Effects on health and everyday life.
Time change is finally over! So we experience the return to winter time
It's that time again: On the night of October 25th to 26th, 2025, we will set the clocks back one hour. At 3:00 a.m. it's just 2:00 a.m. - an hour more to sleep and the final farewell to daylight saving time. The return to Central European Time (CET) marks a change that results in numerous discussions about the sense and nonsense of this tradition. Celler Presse highlights that this time change has an origin story from 1916 - introduced during the First World War to make better use of daylight and save energy.
Daylight saving time itself was permanently established in 1980 and was originally intended to reduce energy costs. Since then it has been firmly anchored in the European calendar. Clocks are turned forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October. Despite the uniform regulations within the European Union, the time change is still a hotly debated topic. An online EU survey in 2018 showed that a clear majority of citizens want to abolish this change. However, SWR reports that no final decision has yet been made at the European level.
Health effects
The question of the health consequences of the time change is also regularly discussed. Sleep researcher Dr. Hans-Günter Weeß explains that changing the clocks is often associated with sleep problems and difficulty concentrating. The change to summer time is particularly seen as problematic because it upsets the internal balance of our body, as NDR describes.
Interestingly, returning to winter causes fewer health problems. However, the changeover process has its pitfalls - in the coming weeks, drivers will have to expect a higher risk of accidents involving wildlife at dusk. Figures from the DAK show that around 30% of Germans suffer from fatigue and sleep disorders after the time change. Women and people between the ages of 45 and 59 are particularly badly affected.
The future of time change
The debate about abolishing or maintaining the time change remains exciting. Critics argue that permanent switching doesn't really help save energy. Scientists warn that permanent daylight saving time could lead to a risky dark scenario in winter, with daylight only starting around 9am. NDR also mentions the increased risk of heart disease and migraine attacks following the time change.
Overall, it turns out that the time change is still a double-edged sword: on the one hand, joy about the “longer” night on Sunday, and on the other hand, the health risks and social burdens that can accompany it. It remains to be seen whether we will no longer have to change the clocks in the long term. In any case, the next opportunity to change the time will be on the last Sunday in March 2026, when we switch to summer time again.