Daylight saving: Clocks go forward on Sunday

Belgium will switch to daylight saving time on 29 March, moving clocks forward by one hour at 2.00.

While the change marks the arrival of longer, lighter evenings, it also means one hour less sleep this weekend.

The biannual time change remains part of a system across Europe designed to make better use of daylight during the warmer months. In practice, it shifts daylight from the early morning to the evening, a move historically linked to energy savings and increased productivity especially in the farming sector.

The concept of daylight savings goes back over a century. Modern daylight saving time was first widely introduced during the First World War as a way to conserve fuel by reducing the need for artificial lighting during the daytime. Belgium, like many European countries, later adopted the system permanently, with the current EU-wide framework in place since the 1990s.

Despite its long history, the system remains controversial. Critics argue that the energy saving benefits are now minimal, while the disruption to sleep patterns and biological rhythms can negatively affect health. Sleep expert, Adam Spira PhD, says “The scientific evidence points to acute increases in adverse health consequences from changing the clocks, including heart attacks and stroke.”

In addition, a paper from 2017 published in the International Association for Energy Economics Journal stated that extending the use of daylight hours encourages people to use more air conditioning and heating.

Efforts have been made at the European level to abolish the seasonal clock changes altogether. In 2018, the European Commission proposed ending the practice, allowing member states to choose permanent summer or winter time. However, the proposal has stalled due to a lack of agreement among EU countries.

For now, Belgium continues to follow the current system. Clocks will remain on summer time until the end of October, when they are set back again for the winter months.