The time for clock changing is upon us (Picture: Getty)

It is that time of the year, again, when we have to fiddle with our clocks and watches as Daylight Savings Time comes to an end.

Yes, this weekend we set the clocks back an hour, meaning we get an extra spell in bed and the mornings get a little brighter.

Police officer Dennis Turner sacked for arresting six-year-oldsPolice officer sacked for arresting six-year-olds for misbehaving in class

It is always the last Sunday in October that we stick the clocks back an hour, although as that is the case, the date changes each year.

Here is when and why we are putting the clocks back in 2018.

Don’t forget! (Picture: Getty Images)

When do the clocks go back?

The clocks will be set back one hour at 2am on Sunday, 28 October, meaning you will get one extra hour in bed, suddenly 28 October can’t come fast enough.


Daylight Saving Time will then be at an end, which means it is brighter for one hour in the morning and sunset will come one hour earlier in the evening.

When do the clocks go forward again?

The clocks will go forward one hour again in the spring next year at 1am on Sunday, 31 March when we will lose one hour’s sleep.

(Picture: Getty Images)

Why does the clock-changing happen?

Clocks change by one hour twice a year in spring and autumn, a way to remember is using the American English mnemonic ‘spring forward, fall back.’

The practice of changing the clocks coming into the winter months came about in order to give us more light in the mornings.

In WWI the government brought in British Summer Time to improve the economy by giving farmers an extra hour of sunlight to work in.

Coldplay singer Chris Martin’s great-great-grandfather, William Willett, came up with the bright idea of British Summer Time back in 1907.

He spent much of his life trying to convince people they should get out of bed an hour earlier in the spring to make the most of the brighter mornings, although he died just before it was brought in in 1916.

The idea of the time changing system has been around for centuries, though, and it is believed that the Romans even did it.


In recent years people have criticised the necessity of daylight saving practice, in the world of the modern workforce there is no need for an extra hour of morning sunlight.

People’s sleep schedules are interrupted and some studies have shown that this corresponds to increased car accidents as drivers are thrown off by the disrupted sleep schedule and difference in light levels.

MORE: Man lives upstairs for 18 years after raw sewage flooded ground floor

MORE: Everything Meghan Markle is wearing in Australia with Prince Harry – from Diana’s blue ring to showstopping Oscar De La Renta