You might consider heading to bed an hour early this evening as the clocks move forward overnight.
The ‘summer time’ changeover will happen at 1am tonight as the clocks jump straight to 2am.
Smart phones and devices will automatically move ahead one hour, although traditional watches and alarms will need to be adjusted manually.
The change, known as daylight savings, was first introduced in 1916 Germany as an energy-saving measure during World War I.
Britain introduced the change the same year – and went further in Ireland, abolishing Dublin Mean Time (DMT), which was 25 minutes behind London, and synchronising Ireland and Britain in the same time zone for the first time.
As a result, when British clocks went back by an hour in winter 1916, Irish clocks went back by 35 minutes and have remained on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) ever since.
The US also introduced the measure in 1918 and now, around one-third of the world's countries follow some form of daylight savings system.
Health risks of clocks changing
Professor Luke O’Neill previously told Newstalk there is “very clear evidence” that changing the clocks is bad for our health.
“You reacclimatise after a few days anyway, but in that period, say a few days after the clock changes, there is an increased risk of various things like heart attacks - that is very clear - and stroke for example,” he said.
“Just because we're slightly out of sync with our biological clock.
“You reacclimatise after a few days anyway, but in that period, say a few days after the clock changes, there is an increased risk of various things like heart attacks - that is very clear - and stroke for example,” he said.
“Just because we're slightly out of sync with our biological clock.
There is also reportedly a 6% increased risk of fatal car crashes in the days after the clock changes.
The European Parliament has already voted to abolish daylight savings altogether, with countries due to remain on ‘summer time’ all year round.
However, despite the vote passing in 2021, nothing has happened in the years since.
The clocks will move back once again on October 27th.
