On Sunday, clocks across the UK will go forward by an hour for British Summer Time (BST), but one man is keeping his clocks on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) permanently. Stefano Pavone, founder of the anti-daylight saving time movement Hora Solaris, has lived by GMT since October 2018, arguing that daylight saving time (DST) is harmful to health and safety.
Pavone cites studies showing that clock changes disrupt sleep and increase heart attacks, and notes that road traffic accidents in England and Wales fell by 11% when DST was paused in the 1960s. He personally struggles with the transition due to his learning disability and sensitivity to change, and says keeping GMT has improved his sleep and reduced his anxiety.
The US Senate voted to make DST permanent earlier this month, and the European Parliament voted to scrap the hour change in 2019, though the bill has not been implemented. Pavone hopes this will be the last year of clock changes in the UK, calling DST a “failed experiment” that should be abolished.
He acknowledges that his activism has received both support and derision, but remains committed to his cause. “It is my fond hope that this will be the last year in which people are forced to compromise their health for the sake of this cursed tradition,” he said.
