How would life change if we kept winter time? And what about summer time?

Which is better, summer time or winter time? The debate is open. If we stick with daylight saving time, the changes would be noticeable during the winter. These would be the most notable effects we would notice, especially around the winter solstice:

• Sunrise would occur around 9:30 a.m.
• Sunset would be around six thirty in the evening.
• We would be two hours above solar time.
• Conclusion: In winter, we would gain clarity in the afternoon, but we would return to work and school while it was still dark.

If we were to permanently stick with winter time, we would notice the changes in the summer, especially around the summer solstice:

• The sun would rise around five thirty in the morning.
• Sunset would be around eight thirty in the evening.
• We would be only one hour above daylight saving time.
• Conclusion: the sun would rise very early, but we would lose an hour of light at night.
• Important: However, sunlight would remain guaranteed until dinner time.

Winter or summer? What's the best time?

Some people defend daylight saving time because daylight hours last longer at night. But with the data in hand, many people might change their minds. Two factors must be taken into account above all: geographical location and daylight saving time, which is the most natural for our vital rhythms.

First and foremost, regarding Catalonia's geographical location, we must bear in mind that our time zone should be aligned with that of the Greenwich Meridian, since it passes very close to the country and crosses the east of the peninsula. Therefore, we would be on the time zone of the United Kingdom, Portugal, or the Canary Islands, and not the Central European time zone, as has been the case up to now. It's worth remembering that Spain now shares a time zone with Central Europe because in 1940, dictator Francisco Franco sought to align himself with Hitler's Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy.

To all this, we must add the factor of daylight saving time, which is the most natural for our vital rhythms depending on our geographical position in the world. Technically, daylight saving time is a system of measuring time based on the position of the sun in the sky in each region of the world. Currently, in Catalonia, we are two hours ahead of daylight saving time in the summer, and only one hour ahead in the winter. Therefore, daylight saving time is the most gentle on our biological rhythms.

Therefore, taking all these factors into account, it's clear that in Catalonia we should stick with daylight saving time, since we are closer to the natural daylight saving time that corresponds to us and, furthermore, with this daylight saving time, we would have guaranteed light during the standard working day both in winter and summer.

In addition, all recent studies indicate that, from a health and biological perspective, daylight saving time is also the best. The data is clear, but for now, we'll have to keep making time changes. The next one will be this weekend, when we officially enter winter time, which is what we should be doing. We'll see if this is the final time change.