"UNIFIED TIME ZONE: SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO TIME FOR HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF KAZAKHSTAN"
Satbayev University hosted a round table on the topic "Unified time zone: scientific aspects", where scientists and experts in the fields of medicine, neuroscience, biophysics, genetics, astrophysics, metrology and physiology discussed the impact of time zone changes on the health, productivity and well-being of residents of Kazakhstan. The participants stressed the importance of returning to natural time in order to synchronize biological rhythms, improve the quality of life and optimize economic processes in the country.
The moderator was the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, who in his opening remarks emphasized that effective time management is a key element that affects the economy and health of the nation and goes beyond everyday convenience.
– There are different points of view on changing the time zone, and our task is to consider this issue objectively, based on scientific data and international experience. The countries that were able to build their daily cycle correctly in such conditions have achieved success," the minister said.
The question of time affects everyone in Kazakhstan, because it concerns not only everyday life, but also the health, productivity and well-being of all residents of the country. However, this issue is deeper than the unification of the country into a single logistics and administrative system.
Back in 1930, Kazakhstan, as part of the Soviet Union, began to live according to "maternity time" one hour ahead, to which an annual transition to "summer time" was also added. As a result, residents of the country have developed "desynchronosis", a condition that occurs when there is a discrepancy between the human lifestyle and the natural solar cycle. The reform of changing the time zone is aimed at correcting the allowed bias.
Scientist Sultan Toleukhanov, a specialist in the field of applied biophysics, chronobiology and environmental biophysics, and physiology, emphasized in his speech that the solar cycle is the basis of human physiology:
– I started dealing with cyclical processes 50 years ago from a medical point of view. We realized that human circadian rhythms are genetically programmed, and the central mechanism of this process is the circadian rhythm of melatonin," Sultan Toleukhanov said.
Therefore, a return to natural time will restore biological cycles, improve sleep quality and cope with chronic fatigue.
According to the world's leading scientists, the transition to natural time improves health, reduces social costs and contributes to the sustainable development of the country. The 2017 Nobel Prize winners in Chronobiology, Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rozbash and Michael Yang, have proven that human circadian rhythms play a crucial role in regulating sleep, hormones, metabolism and other important body processes.
Kazakhstani scientists agree with this position. Dilara Kaidarova, Chief freelance Oncologist at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Board of the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology, stressed that it is best to use the time coinciding with natural solar time for public health.:
– Kazakhstan lives in the natural time zone UTC+5. The natural time zone allows the body to synchronize with the natural circadian cycles of light and dark. This promotes the regular secretion of melatonin, a hormone that protects cells from damage and has antitumor effects. Thus, synchronizing society's life with circadian rhythms reduces the risk of developing cancer," she said in her speech.
The economic losses of introducing natural time are unjustified, as modern lighting technologies significantly reduce energy consumption. At the same time, a single time zone helps optimize administrative and economic processes in the country, as a single time simplifies doing business within Kazakhstan and with international partners, as well as planning transport schedules. Overall, a positive economic effect is expected. The International Alliance for Natural Time (IANT), whose mission is to help society transition to the natural cycle for sustainable development, confirms these findings.
Other experts spoke at the meeting, who showed the advantages of switching to UTC+5 time from different sides. Darkhan Yerezhep, Head of the Department of Standardization, Certification and Metrology at Satbayev University, spoke about the history of time standardization on a global scale and stressed that the development of world trade is impossible without recognizing the results of measurements carried out in different countries.
Askar Kalekeshov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Genetics and Physiology, shared facts from research on the physiology of the human circadian cycle. He stressed that failure to follow a proper sleep regime disrupts the functioning of all body systems: from thought processes and memory to appearance, body weight and general health. And for children, the sleep factor is even more important.
Despite the unequivocally proven positive effect of the transition to natural cycles, given the complexities of such a global transition, the competent authorities are keeping their finger on the pulse by systematically monitoring the process of implementing a single time zone. That is why the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the support of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Transport, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized the round table.
The participants in the discussion emphasized the need for interagency cooperation and the expansion of scientific research to develop recommendations aimed at improving the quality of life of the population. All parties expressed their willingness to cooperate in order to implement balanced and scientifically sound decisions in the field of time management.
At the end of the round table, the participants adopted a resolution. In addition, the issue of creating an Association of Chronobiologists on the basis of al-Farabi Kazakh National University is being considered.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/sci/press/news/details/911021