On the night of March 30th to 31st, “normal” Central European Time (CET), also known as winter time, ends. On Sunday at 2 a.m. the clocks will be set forward one hour again – this night will then be one hour shorter. The end of the time change has been discussed again and again in the past – but is still not in sight.
The change to summer time in particular leads to phenomena that are similar to jet lag. The human body first has to get used to the changes in the sleep-wake rhythm. Even the one-hour time change is enough to throw most people’s “internal clock” out of sync. Because our sense of time is more than just our imagination: it is located in the brain and consists of two pinhead-sized collections of nerve cells. These cells monitor how much light hits the eyes and adjust body temperature, hormone secretion and metabolic rate accordingly. After the time change, the “internal clock”, which is controlled by the hormonal balance, needs one to two days to adjust to the new rhythm.