In the early hours of March 25th, the clocks will go forward to mark the start of BST (British Summer Time). With the days getting longer, due to DST (Daylight Saving Time), in a bid to stop us wasting valuable hours of light in the summer months – how do you plan to use your extra hours of light?
I plan to get out more often and consistently walk, jog or hike on a weekly basis. The lighter evenings allow for more flexibility with training and a health & fitness regime. If I am working all day with my clients and have the evening off from about 19:30, I will be able to get out on my road bike for a few hours and feel safe to do so. In the winter months, training has to go indoors when my working day is full, and I feel a bit ‘lost’ as I absolutely love nature and being outdoors. It gives me so many health benefits to be out and about. It calms my body as I am able to breathe deeper and consistently calmer when in nature. I relax and therefore the vagus nerve, which connects to my adrenals, is no longer in ‘heightened’ mode and being overstimulated. The knock on effect is that my anxiety levels are lower in the summer months as I can get out and just ‘be’. A calmer mind and body leads to a more efficient and highly productive person.
The longer days will enable more social interactions with my friends and family. Everyone ‘feels’ as if they have more energy and time to do 101 things in the summer, compared to the winter months. I plan to see my friends and family more as they too will be happy to get out for a walk in the sunshine evenings. Most people tend to stay in on a cold and frosty day or if they do get out, rest assured it will not be a daily/weekly occurrence. The opposite can be seen in summer, where you observe daily that the pubs are brimming with daytime walkers who stay way into the late evening.
Remember reader, the clocks will spring forward robbing us of an hours sleep at 1am on Sunday 25th March, in exchange for an extra hour of daylight during working hours. Will you choose to use and embrace the lighter evenings and be more productive? Maybe start a new outdoor fitness regime? Take bi-weekly evening walks out in nature? Let me know how you make use of the longer days.
