Short- and long-term effects of seasonal daylight saving time and Polish students’ attitude towards it

Background
Despite a long period of observing the consequences of annual time changes, the opinion about their impact on health is not univocal. The correctness of the decision made in March 2019 by the European Parliament concerning abolishing daylight saving time, taking into account scientific literature, remains indecisive.

Objectives
The aim of the study is to determine the impact and subjective opinion of daylight saving time (DST) on the population of people between 18 and 32 years of age in Poland.

Material and methods
The survey was conducted among students of Polish universities. 696 people took part in the survey. In order to compare qualitative variables, the Pearson’s Chi-squared test was used, and quantitative variables were compared with the student’s t-test for two groups or by analysis of variance (ANOVA) for more than two groups. As a Post Hoc test, Turkey’s test for unequal n was applied. Values of p < 0.05 were considered significant. The analysis was performed using Statistica software.

Results
Females made up 85.1% of the study. As a result of experiencing negative symptoms, 2.9% needed medical help and 10.5% took medicines. Most of the respondents are convinced about the negative impact of DST on their health. People who expressed a negative opinion about time changes have significantly more complications.

Conclusions
Even a short-term disturbance of chronobiological rhythm homeostasis can have dangerous consequences, such as traffic accidents, cardiovascular system disorders or sleeping disorders. Even if only a small percentage of the society is negatively affected, the abolition of daylight saving time may be beneficial.