On Sunday, March 29th, 2026, at 03:00 a.m., Bulgaria will switch to summer time. Clocks will be moved forward by one hour, meaning we will lose an hour of sleep. This adjustment follows a decision by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union made on March 19th, 2001. Astronomical time will resume on October 25th, 2026.

The concept of summer time has an interesting history. Benjamin Franklin, the first US ambassador to France, jokingly suggested it in 1784 to make fun of the “lazy” French. In a satirical letter to the Paris Gazette, he proposed moving clocks forward in summer to take advantage of daylight, also recommending taxes on window blinds, rationed candles, and wake-up calls by artillery fire.

Over a century later, in 1895, New Zealand astronomer George Hudson proposed summer time to gain extra daylight for studying insects. In 1907, English builder and horology enthusiast William Willett independently suggested the idea after noticing closed windows and curtains during early summer mornings. By July 1, 1908, residents of Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, were officially allowed to move clocks forward one hour for longer summer evenings, and other Canadian cities quickly adopted the change.

Germany implemented daylight saving time on April 30, 1916, driven by wartime motives: longer daylight hours conserved fuel and improved efficiency for military production. Britain followed a month later, despite opposition from farmers who preferred brighter summer mornings. In 1925, Britain made daylight saving time permanent, aligning waking hours more closely with seasonal daylight.

The future of clock changes in the European Union remains uncertain. In 2018, the EU began discussions on potentially ending the biannual clock changes due to negative health effects. However, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed these talks. To fully abandon the practice, all EU countries must reach a synchronized decision. Meanwhile, other nations, including Turkey, Russia, and Peru, have already stopped adjusting clocks.

The main concern with clock changes is their impact on the biological rhythm. Adjusting to the new time can take one to two weeks, causing fatigue, headaches, reduced concentration, and general discomfort. For 2026, daylight saving time will remain in effect until October 24th, after which clocks will be turned back by one hour on the night of October 25th, returning to standard astronomical time.