More daylight 'would make UK healthier'

The health and wellbeing of the nation would be vastly improved if British Summer Time was extended to increase daylight hours in the evening, it was claimed yesterday.

Not putting clocks back by one hour at 2am this Sunday, but still putting them forward in the spring, would encourage more outdoor activity, said a report in the British Medical Journal.

Dr Mayer Hillman, of the Policy Studies Institute, said many chronic illnesses were caused by a lack of physical exertion. An extra hour of daylight would benefit children and the elderly by giving them more leisure time.

He added: "This clock change would be an effective, practical and easily managed way to better align our waking hours with available daylight."