Every year on the final Sunday of March, summer time begins – the clocks jump from 2am in the morning to 3am and therefore rob us of an hour of our holy sleep.

The idea behind the time shift first came up during World War One in various countries, but Denmark did not permanently introduce daylight saving time (DST) until 1980.

Hotly disputed
The government argued the switch would save energy. However, its critics argue that the energy we save by using less electricity for light in the evenings is used for extra heating in the mornings.

There is even a national association against summer time, Landsforeningen mod Sommertid, even though it has been compulsory for all EU states to use DST since 1996.

Its critics remain convinced of its negative influence on our biological clocks and on our daily routines and sleep patterns.

But they’re stuck with it and, like the rest of us, know they need to wind their clocks forward an hour this weekend … or they’ll risk being late!