Countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East put their clocks back an hour at the start of winter, which makes it lighter by the time most people get up to start the day, but it means afternoons lose an hour of daylight, which some experts argue is a bad idea, Reuters reports. In Northern regions, the resources used to create light, and the limit it puts on outdoor activities, are bad for our health and the environment, they say. Leaving the clocks alone would give us an extra hour of afternoon daylight, boosting levels of vitamin D and encouraging people to exercise more. One study, in Scotland, found that doing so would save 300 extra hours of daylight in a year, providing benefits to nearly everyone in the population at no cost.

Reuters