When daylight saving starts and how it will affect you

Summertime is fast approaching and so too is daylight savings, meaning days are about to become warmer and a whole lot longer.

In a few weeks Australians in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, will be setting their clocks forward an hour.

On the first Sunday in October, which this year will be the 6th, clocks in those states will go forward at 2am to become 3am instead.

This means sunrise and sunset will occur about an hour later than usual, creating more light in the evening and more time after work to enjoy the balmy outdoor weather.

The change will remain in place for six months, and be set back an hour again on the first Sunday in April.

Does Queensland have daylight saving?

Queenslanders living in the southeast part of the state typically support the idea of daylight saving, while those in the far north argue the summer months are far too hot to make use of the sun.

The matter has long been a contentious issue for the Sunshine State, and the subject of heated debate each year as daylight saving rolls around elsewhere.

Last year Queensland’s premier Annastacia Palaszczuk categorically ruled out any move to introduce daylight saving, saying she didn’t want to “divide the state”.

She argued there wasn’t enough support for the change, with those in rural Queensland being the most opposed to daylight saving.

Daylight saving time in NSW

People in NSW along with South Australia, Victoria, ACT and Tasmania will wake up on October 6 to it being an hour later than usual.

Fortunately, the change is introduced during a time many people will already be enjoying a slow start to the day.

Will WA time change for daylight saving?

Western Australia observes Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) all year.

Daylight saving was trialled in the west for three years with the clocks last changing on 29 March, 2009. The state voted against daylight saving at the conclusion of the trial.

Is there daylight saving in Victoria?

Victoria has the same daylight saving as NSW, SA, ACT and Tasmania, and will remain on the same time zone as its neighbours for the entire six-month period.

For Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia residents, who do not adopt daylight saving, it will be business as usual.

Will my phone automatically update to daylight saving?

While most people’s body clock will take about a week to adjust once daylight saving kicks in, the same is unlikely to be said for their devices.

Most digital devices including phones, laptops, watches and clocks should automatically update to show the updated daylight saving time.

People can ensure their digital counterparts are prepared by making sure they are set to the correct time zone, and show the current accurate time.

For detailed explanations on how to set a variety of devices to the correct time zone and to automatically update, click here.

How does daylight saving affect your sleep?

The change to daylight saving time will probably affect how much sleep people get in the days following the initial change, according to Dr Elise McGlashan, research fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University.

“Some people might notice that with the change, they don’t sleep as long as they normally would. The clock on our phones might change right away, but the ones in our body do not,” she told Yahoo News Australia.

Our core body clock, located in the brain, helps us to sleep and wake at regular times. When we change the clocks for daylight saving, our internal clock doesn’t want to go to sleep until our normal bedtime - according to standard time - which is now an hour later.

“But, we still have to wake up at the same time for work. So, we usually end up sleeping a bit less for those first few days.”

Melbourne-based sleep consultant and mother-of-two Emily Duffell, author of the book Bedtime Battles No More, said daylight saving can cause havoc for parents trying to get their little ones to sleep, which was already a difficult task at the best of times.

“It goes against our natural body clock to go to sleep when it’s still light outside. It’s why daylight saving is such a big deal for parents with little kids,” she told Yahoo News Australia.

“An hour time change doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s actually quite a big deal to our natural body clock.”

She said the darkness naturally brings out melatonin, the chemical in our bodies also known as the sleeping hormone.

“As a sleep consultant I’d say, yes, it does work against your natural body clock, and a good night’s sleep is so incredibly important for our overall health.

“But you can enjoy the advantages of daylight saving; it’s just a matter of adapting your children’s sleep patterns.”

Can daylight saving make you sick?

The initial change to daylight saving time won’t necessarily make you sick, but many people might notice disruptions to their sleep for the first few days before adapting to a new day-night cycle.

There does however tend to be higher rates of certain health conditions in locations where the sun sets and rises later, like in the instance of daylight saving, Dr McGlashan said.

She said more people dealt with metabolic and cardiovascular conditions, which was “due to the fact that people in these places regularly see bright sunlight close to the time they are going to bed”.

“This can cause your internal clock to be misaligned relative to your sleep, and your social time, Dr McGlashan said.

“There are internal clocks in nearly every tissue and system in your body, so this kind of chronic disruption can have serious health consequences.

“For this reason, scientists who study internal clocks have suggested that we should abandon daylight saving time altogether, in favour of permanent standard time.”

Can disrupted sleep from daylight saving effect your mood?

Some people might find that they experience poor mood, or sleepiness in the first few days after the change because they are not sleeping as much as normal, according to Dr McGlashan.

While the internal clock is adjusting, it also means people will need to wake up despite their body clock still telling them to sleep.

“This can leave us feeling really tired, and will potentially impact our mood,” Dr McGlashan said.

How long does it take for most people to adjust?

While some will adjust quickly to the change and be adapted within a few days, others may struggle a bit more.

“Not having sunlight when they wake up, and having lots of bright light close to their bedtime will result in longer term effects on their sleep,” Dr McGlashan said.

“We can help our body clock to adjust by making sure we avoid bright light in the hours before bedtime, and trying to get as much light as we can when we wake up.”

Will menstrual cycles be affected by daylight saving?

Severe disruptions to a woman’s internal clock caused by dramatic and frequent changes to their working schedule, like for those working shift work, can impact the menstrual cycle, Dr McGlashan said.

But in the instance of daylight saving, she said this was unlikely to occur.

“The shift to daylight saving time is unlikely to affect the menstrual cycle.

“More severe disruptions to the internal clocks, such as chronic shift-work can impact the menstrual cycle, but smaller changes like the shift to daylight saving are unlikely to have any impact.”

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter, download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.