Daylight Saving Time is back, but why are we still changing the clocks?

New Zealanders will lose an hour of sleep next weekend as the country prepares to switch to daylight saving time.

According to a report by 1News, at 2 am on Sunday, September 27, clocks across the country will move forward by one hour, bringing longer daylight hours into the evening.

The annual change can take some adjustment, with people potentially experiencing disrupted sleep for several days as their body clocks adapt. It also means resetting clocks on household appliances, vehicles and other devices that do not automatically update.

For clockmakers, however, the transition involves considerably more work.

Auckland clockmaker Jamie McKinnon, owner of the Precision Watch Company, looks after more than 100 clocks in his shop.

"There's hundreds of them, just hundreds," he says, 1News has quoted.

McKinnon is also responsible for changing 22 public clocks across Auckland and Northland.

"You've got to climb clock towers and get access behind walls. That's an interesting part of the job," Jamie says, as quoted by 1News.

He will repeat the process when daylight saving ends in April.

The main purpose of daylight saving is to make greater use of summer daylight by moving an hour of sunlight from the early morning into the evening. The change is intended to provide more daylight for outdoor activities such as sport, barbecues, shopping and recreation, as reported by 1News.

However, the twice-yearly clock change has also attracted debate over its effects on sleep, health and safety.

Research has associated the transition into daylight saving with increased health risks, while a 2020 University of Auckland study found a significant rise in road accident claims during the first two days after daylight saving began.

The disruption is partly linked to sleep. While clocks change instantly, the human body does not, meaning some people can experience altered routines and disturbed sleep for several days, 1News has reported.

Several countries, including Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico and Samoa, have abandoned daylight saving, but New Zealand continues to observe the system.

A Kiwi connection

The origins of daylight saving also have a New Zealand connection.

George Hudson was a pioneer of daylight saving. (Source: Supplied)

In 1895, New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed shifting clocks during summer. Working shifts at the post office, Hudson wanted more daylight after work to pursue his interest in collecting insects.

English builder William Willett later promoted a similar proposal, arguing that changing the clocks could reduce the need for artificial lighting, as reported by 1News.

Port Arthur in Canada was among the first places to introduce daylight saving in 1908, while Germany became the first entire country to adopt it in 1916 during World War I, partly as a fuel-saving measure.

New Zealand introduced daylight saving in 1927, although the system changed several times over the following decades. The dates varied, the time shift was temporarily reduced to half an hour, and daylight saving was extended to operate year-round during wartime before eventually being abandoned, as reported by 1News.

The system recognisable today was established in 1975.

In 2007, the daylight saving period was extended following a petition signed by around 42,000 New Zealanders, who argued that longer summer evenings would benefit recreation and tourism.

The farming myth

Despite a common belief that daylight saving was introduced to benefit farmers, farmers have historically been among its critics.

Farming routines are closely connected to daylight and livestock patterns, meaning changing the clock does not necessarily alter when work needs to be done, 1News has reported.

The impact was particularly evident in Northland, where residents of Ararua adopted their own unofficial time in 1984.

Known as "Ararua Time", the arrangement saw residents refuse to follow the official clock. Although the experiment did not last, it remains an unusual chapter in New Zealand's long-running debate over daylight saving, as quoted by 1News.

A global divide

Daylight saving is far from universal, with only around 70 countries observing the practice.

Most of Europe follows daylight saving, while the United States observes it almost everywhere except Hawaii and most of Arizona.

Australia is divided, with New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory changing their clocks, while Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not, as reported by 1News.

Most countries across Asia, Africa and South America do not observe daylight saving.

The United States continues to debate whether the system should be made permanent, potentially ending the twice-yearly clock change.

Why not end daylight saving?

The debate over daylight saving ultimately comes down to whether the benefits of longer summer evenings outweigh the disruption caused by changing the clocks.

According to 1News, supporters point to additional evening daylight for recreation, tourism and businesses, while critics highlight concerns around sleep disruption, health and road safety.

Ending the twice-yearly change would also require New Zealand to decide which time to keep.

Permanent daylight saving would bring brighter summer evenings but darker winter mornings, while permanent standard time would provide earlier winter sunlight but reduce evening daylight during summer, as reported by 1News.

For now, New Zealand will continue with its current system — meaning residents should remember to move their clocks forward by one hour on September 27.