Britain will enjoy an extra hour in bed as the clocks go back on Sunday at 2am, officially ending British summertime. Of course, if you are a night worker, your shift will drag on a bit this weekend and if you have children or pets it will probably make no difference. Popular myths claim that adjusting the clocks was to benefit farmers or improve road safety for early morning commuters, but the practice goes back more than 100 years when the Summer Time Act was established in 1916 after a successful campaign by a builder, William Willett. Willet wanted to shift the clocks back by 80 minutes in 20-minute weekly steps on Sundays in September and vice versa in April. The move was made during the first world war to help conserve fuel and has endured ever since, despite the fact that there is no real benefit to lighter mornings and longer evenings. Those in favour of adjusting the clocks argue daylight in the morning increases productivity, but this is undermined by the fact that it can dive by about 20% during the summer months when, on average, there are seven more hours of daylight compared with winter. Those against turning the clocks backwards and forwards point to the interruption of sleeping patterns, which can cause health problems. Also, it is worth remembering that what October gives in an extra hour of sleep, March takes away when the clocks go forward. It does not look like this situation will end soon. In March 2019, the European parliament scrapped the changing of clocks, giving member states the option to decide which daylight zone to remain in. However, the reform has been temporarily put on hold and Britain shows no sign of letting time stand still.