Why Our Bodies Prefer Winter Time
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Twice a year, people in Spain change their clocks: once in spring and once in autumn.
Miguel Ángel Saiz, a specialist in sleep medicine, has explained why our bodies adapt more easily to the winter time change.
According to Saiz, the human sleep-wake cycle naturally lasts about 24.6 hours, slightly longer than a normal day.
This small difference may explain why moving the clock back in autumn, which gives us an extra hour, feels easier for the body.
However, Saiz points out that this does not mean people actually sleep more during that extra hour.
He said that having 60 additional minutes does not automatically lead to more sleep.
Many people assume that an extra hour means extra rest, but the specialist suggests the reality is more complicated.
Our internal clock, also called the circadian rhythm, controls when we feel sleepy and when we feel awake.
Because this internal rhythm runs slightly longer than 24 hours, the body may find it easier to adjust to a longer day than a shorter one.
This is one possible reason why the daylight saving change in autumn, known as winter time, can feel less disruptive than the change in spring.
The clock changes in Spain happen as part of a wider system used across Europe, aiming to make better use of daylight through the year.
Saiz's comments offer a scientific explanation for a change that many people experience every year but may not fully understand.
Vocabulary10 words
- specialist
- a person with deep knowledge in one area
- adapt
- to adjust to a new situation
- sleep-wake cycle
- the pattern of sleeping and waking in a day
- additional
- extra; more than before
- internal clock
- the body's own system for timing sleep
- circadian rhythm
- the natural 24-hour cycle of the body
- daylight saving
- the system of changing clocks to use daylight better
- disruptive
- causing trouble or change
- adjust
- to change slightly to fit something new
- automatically
- happening without extra effort or thought
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Quiz
Answer key
1. 24.6 hours 2. Because the body naturally runs on a cycle longer than 24 hours 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Twice a year, people in Spain change their _____: once in spring and once in autumn.
Miguel Ángel Saiz, a specialist in sleep medicine, has explained why our bodies _____ more easily to the winter time change.
According to Saiz, the human sleep-wake cycle naturally lasts about 24.6 _____, slightly longer than a normal day.
This small difference may explain why moving the clock back in autumn, which gives us an extra hour, feels _____ for the body.
However, Saiz points out that this does not mean people actually _____ more during that extra hour.
He said that having 60 additional minutes does not automatically lead to more _____.
Our internal clock, also called the circadian _____, controls when we feel sleepy and when we feel awake.
Because this internal rhythm runs slightly longer than 24 hours, the body may find it easier to _____ to a longer day.
This is one possible reason why the daylight saving change in autumn can feel less _____ than the change in spring.
Saiz's comments offer a scientific _____ for a change that many people experience every year.
Discussion questions
- Do you think clock changes should continue, or should countries use one fixed time all year?
- Have you noticed any difference in how your body feels after the spring versus autumn clock change?
- Why do you think people often associate an extra hour with more sleep, even if that is not accurate?
- What other factors, besides the clock change, might affect how well people sleep?
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