Spain Still Runs 1 Hour Ahead of Solar Time After 1940 Clock Shift

1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 21

Spain’s famously late schedules trace largely to a one-hour clock change imposed on 16 March 1940, when the country left GMT for Central European Time on what was billed as a provisional basis.
86 years later, that shift still leaves Madrid’s solar noon near 1:30 p.m. in winter and about 2:30 p.m. in summer, helping explain why a 10 p.m. dinner is closer to a 9 p.m. meal by the sun.
Time-use research comparing Spain, Italy and Britain found Spanish work and meal patterns broadly align with peers once solar position is considered, though chronobiologists dispute that this fully settles the issue.
A 2022 Spain-Portugal study of adults over 65 found similar 7-8 hour sleep durations on both sides of the border, but steadier circadian rhythms in Portugal and later Spanish meals even after correcting for the one-hour offset.
Attempts to restore GMT in 2013 and 2016 faded as trading alignment with Paris and Frankfurt, social inertia and entrenched habits kept Spain on Central European Time.