Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria switches to summer time - how will it affect us?

Photo: wunderweib.de

On the night of Saturday to Sunday (30 March), at 3am, we need to move the clock forward one hour - to 4am. This will give us an hour less sleep on that particular night, but in the long run we will be able to make better use of daylight, which should also lead to a reduction in lighting costs and more time for outdoor activities.


Bulgaria has been moving its clocks one hour forward or back (when switching to standard time) twice a year for 46 years. For many people this is a source of great stress, as it takes time to get used to the change of time.


Shifting time often disrupts our internal biological clocks, leading to increased fatigue, stress, and even health risks, according to doctors. Psychiatrists say that both young and old people experience temporary fatigue and disorientation, similar to jet lag from long-distance travel. For some, the adjustment can take weeks.

Pixabay
The reason for this, say neuroscientists, is that our organism is very precisely calibrated by hormones. Everything in the human body is connected - brain activity, the digestive system, including the waking and sleeping cycles. So we are biologically tuned to a certain length of day and night, and even a change of just one hour can cause an imbalance in all the body's systems. For this reason, they oppose changing the time, especially twice a year, and liken the human body to a "rather elaborate orchestra" that needs to be readjusted with each external change.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, "an abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks, including increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes."

Pexels/ Tiger Lily
In 2021, the European Parliament voted to end daylight saving time in 2021. The European Council has not yet agreed its position on the proposal. Both the Council and the European Parliament must agree in order to pass the legislation needed to end seasonal time changes.

Under current EU law, daylight saving time (DST) begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. EU countries that follow DST include Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. The UK, Norway and Switzerland also change their clocks to summer time.


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Gabriela Gadzsikostova

Gabriela Hadzikostova: Bulgarians in Hungary enjoy great respect

An actress born in Sofia in the family of Liliana Kisyova and Konstantin Hadzsikostov, extremely popular Bulgarian artists of the second half of the last century, Gabriella Hadzsikosztova has lived in Budapest for more than 40 years . Her husband is a..

published on 3/12/25 12:05 PM
Photo: Consulate General of Bulgaria in Los Angeles

Monument to the Bulgarian Alphabet will be placed in Los Angeles

The monument to the Bulgarian alphabet, created by Bulgarian artist Bronislav Likomanov , has arrived in Los Angeles, where it will be installed. The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Los Angeles, USA, announced this on its Facebook page. The mission..

published on 3/11/25 2:20 PM

Workshops open for fans of Busintsi ceramics under the "Traditions" project

Over the next few months, there will be three events dedicated to the famous Busintsi ceramics in Sofia, Burgas and Ihtiman. There will be ceramics and pottery workshops and educational lectures on the Busintsi Ceramics tradition. As part of the..

published on 3/11/25 8:15 AM