Ministry Of Health Looking Into Changing Icelandic Time Zone

Minister of Health Óttarr Proppé has put together a task force that will look into the potential welfare and health benefits of moving Iceland into another time zone and delaying the clocks, according to a press release on the government’s website stjornarradid.is.

As it stands, the time in Iceland doesn’t align with sunlight (what limited amount of it we have of it in winter), which can cause problems to people’s circadian rhythm.

Causes a number of health problems

“Compared to daylight and the location of the country, the clocks in Iceland are too fast,” the press release said. “This causes so-called clock fatigue, which can have a negative impact on sleep patterns and increase the likelihood of a number of health problems, for instance obesity, diabetes and heart and coronary diseases.”

In 2015, a proposal was put forth in parliament about moving the clocks back one hour, but the end the proposal was not discussed.

The task force is set to deliver its recommendations before February first.