Daylight savings: Clock to be set back one hour tomorrow

SANTIAGO.- We will all benefit from one extra hour of sleep (though young people will surely claim one hour more to party). The first time change of 2009 for fall daylight savings is set to take place tomorrow, Saturday March 14th, at midnight, requiring clocks to be set back one hour.

As always, the time change is expected to spark a debate about the effects it has on the body, since sleeping schedules will have to be adjusted. Nevertheless, problems experienced are only temporary and allegedly affect the entire population in the same way.

The truth is that the most significant complications experienced can be seen in mood swings, gastrointestinal effects, and anxiety and sleep disorders.

"Turning back the clock by one hour requires a certain period of time for the body to adjust. Meanwhile, people are sleepy, exhausted or fatigued, which decreases work performance and increases the probability of errors", explains Claus Behn, a Physiologist for Mutal de Seguridad.

Paulina Hernández, an ergonomics and work shift specialist for Mutual de Seguridad, added that there are individual disorders that can occur, which affect early-morning risers, night owls and people with a rigid schedule in different ways.