DON'T worry - this weekend you can have an extra hour in bed.

At 2am on Sunday morning, the clocks go back an hour, giving us all a much-needed extra hour to sleep (spring forward, fall back).

But why do we change our clocks twice a year?

The short answer is, to make the best use of daylight.

Turning the clocks forward by an hour began in 1916, during the First World War, a month after Germany brought in daylight saving measures to reduce its industrial demand for coal.

After the war, the move became permanent and since then the UK has changed its clocks forward for the summer to reflect the desire to have lighter evenings in the summer months for citizens to enjoy their leisure.

More time during the lighter, summer evenings allows people to play sports, get outside and enjoy the better weather after the typical working or school day is done.

Health experts suggest it is a strong weapon against childhood obesity as DST encourages youngsters to get outside in the fresh air and remain active into the evening.

What about the winter?

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents argues we should stick with BST year-round to ensure lighter evenings in the winter.

But many farmers, particularly in northern England and Scotland, are opposed to keeping BST through the year as they prefer to have lighter mornings to carry out their work.

If it was brought in permanently, children in higher latitudes would be going to school in the dark.

Some argue changing clocks twice a year is an unnecessary hassle.

Could it change?

European MEPs have voted to scrap the twice-yearly clock changes.

Should governments agree, EU states will decide whether to stay on permanent “winter time” or “summer time” from 2021.

This would apply to the UK during any Brexit transition period.

In the UK Parliament, a Private Member’s Bill to put the clocks forward an hour was talked out by opponents in 2012 and did not come into law.

In it, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tory MP for North East Somerset, proposed giving Somerset its own timezone, 15 minutes behind the rest of the country.

It was his way of highlighting deficiencies he saw in the proposed bill.