Published
comments
Comments
It's that time of year again when the clocks go back in the UK.
The clocks normally go back an hour on the last Sunday of October. This year, that's on 29 October.
When the clocks change like this, it means we are moving from British Summer Time (BST) to Greenwich Mean Time. You can find out what this means further down the page.
This means on Sunday 29 October you'll get to spend an extra hour in bed.
If you can't see this interactive story, click here.
When do the clocks change in 2023?
This year the clocks go back on 29 October, which is the last Sunday of the month.
They went forward in spring, on 26 March.
Do I need to put my phone back an hour?
Thankfully most smart phones, computers, and other devices connected to the internet, normally update the time automatically.
But, if you have a watch or clock that isn't digital, don't forget to check if you need to manually reset the time.
Why do we change the clocks?
Image source, Getty Images
An American politician and inventor called Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea while in Paris in 1784.
He suggested that if people got up earlier, when it was lighter, then it would save on candles.
But it arrived in the UK after Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather, a builder called William Willett, thought it was a good idea too.
In 1907, he published a leaflet called The Waste of Daylight, encouraging people to get out of bed earlier.
Willett was a keen golfer and he got cross when his games would be cut short because the sun went down and there wasn't enough light to carry on playing.
When did we start changing our clocks?
The idea of moving the clocks forwards and backwards was discussed by the government in 1908, but many people didn't like it so it wasn't made a law.
Willett spent his life trying to convince people that it was a good idea, but it was only introduced in the UK in 1916 - a year after he died.
Image source, Getty Images
It was actually first introduced by the Germans in World World One, just before the UK did it.
During World War Two, the UK used what was called British Double Summer Time (BDST), when the clocks were ahead by an extra hour during the summer. But this didn't last for very long.
Image source, Getty Images
Now, the UK's clocks always go back by one hour on the last Sunday in October and forward by one hour on the last Sunday in March.
Moving clocks like this is now done in some countries across the world, but many still don't do this.
What is Greenwich Mean Time?
From 29 October this year until 31 March next year, we are in Greenwich Mean Time.
It's based on the time that is worked out in Greenwich in London.
The word "mean" is a type of average. The "mean time" is the average time based on how the Earth moves around the Sun.
The UK started using GMT as a standard for time because of railways. When trains got to stops, people had to know that the time would be the same for everyone else, or they would miss their train.
This is how we used to base clock time, before we introduced bringing the clocks forward for summer - which is called British Summer Time.
You might have also heard of Daylight Savings Time - which is just the term for changing the clocks to get more sunlight in the evenings in summer.
Should we stop putting the clocks forward and back?
Image source, Getty Images
Lots of people have different opinions about whether we should change our clocks like this.
Some think having BST is a good thing because it saves energy, by making better use of natural daylight, and helps to reduce traffic accidents.
Others don't like it because they argue that it doesn't actually save any energy, and it can make it darker when children are going to school in the morning, which can be dangerous.
They also think changing clocks and time in this way isn't very good for our health.
Could the clocks change be a thing of the past?
Published
5 March 2019
