Daylight savings, it's a love-hate thing. For sun-loving revellers and barbecue fanatics, the turning of the clocks forward marks the beginning of the best time of year. But it's a big bone of contention – NSW farmers want to nix the time change. The recent changing of the clocks has sparked fresh debate, and farmers have been particularly vocal on it this year – after New South Wales Farmers Association members attended a conference this year, they're mounting a big campaign to change the status quo.
The group raised a number of arguments – and no, not that it fades the curtains or makes the cows unhappy. Their key argument is that daylight saving negatively impacts people’s health.
According to some experts, including Shanthakumar Rajaratnam, a professor of sleep and circadian medicine at Monash University, switching the body's circadian rhythm can actually have some long-term health implications like depression, anxiety, stress and burnout.
“There is a worldwide movement now looking at whether daylight saving should be discontinued on the basis of its health effects," he told the ABC. "Certain kinds of heart disease, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer and reproductive disorders are all linked to disturbance of sleep.”
The Association also argues the switch to daylight saving in early October has negative impacts on plenty of families' quality of life – having to get the family up in the dark of the morning can affect moods and make them feel like they had little energy for extracurricular activities.
The change of clocks also causes issues for NSW residents who live near the border of Queensland, which does not switch to daylight saving time. They might live in one time zone and work in another, for instance.
The New South Wales Farmers Association have put a motion forward to reduce the daylight saving period to four months – November to February.
When it comes to us here, we love making the most of daylight saving by dining outdoors at these great Sydney spots (especially now that Sydney's regulations around outdoor dining and even drinking while standing outside have been scrapped), exploring Sydney's best beer gardens and rooftop bars, and taking post-work coastal walks.