---
title: The Clocks Went Back on Sunday. Your Body Has Not Caught Up Yet.
description: The clocks went back on 25th October. How the one-hour shift affects your sleep, mood and appetite, and simple ways to help your body adjust faster.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-28T09:23:44.039Z
updated: 2026-10-28T09:23:44.052Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/clocks-go-back-sleep-mood-appetite
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-9615255.webp
categories: Sleep & Recovery, Everyday Wellness
content_type: Feature
region: United Kingdom
publication: Rich Health Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

At 2am on Sunday 25th October, the clocks in the UK went back to 1am, and British Summer Time gave way to Greenwich Mean Time. Your phone changed in an instant, but your body did not. The internal clock that times your sleep, hunger, alertness and hormone release runs on light rather than on the numbers on a screen, and it usually needs several days to a week to settle on the new time.

## Why an extra hour in bed leaves you awake at 5am

A cluster of around 20,000 nerve cells deep in your brain, just above the point where the optic nerves cross, acts as your master clock. It takes its cue from light reaching specialised cells in your eyes, most strongly in the morning. This morning, your master clock still runs an hour ahead of the kitchen clock. That explains why you may have woken before your alarm on Sunday, why young children are up at 5am instead of 6am and why you may feel ready for bed by 9pm.

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