Spain attracts millions of tourists each year with its passion for life, delicious cuisine and intense music and dance and rich history. While the country's past is alluring for its tourists, its citizens don't want to be stuck in the past, they want to move forward -- by changing its time zone.

Researchers believe that the country is in the "wrong" zone, and changing it could improve eating, sleeping and working habits, MSN reports.

How was Spain's time zone determined in the first place?

"In 1942, Spanish dictator Gen. Franco decided to align the country's time zone with that of Nazi Germany (Central European Time), even though geographically it should have been left in Greenwich Mean Time with Portugal and the United Kingdom. (In the winter, Spain is one hour ahead of GMT; in the summer, two hours.)" MSN adds. 

A new document by a parliamentary commission suggests that this is detrimental to its citizens.

"We sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends," the commission's report says. "All this has a negative effect on productivity, absenteeism, stress, accidents and school dropout rates."

Spaniards would like to be on the same clock as their European neighbors and not lag behind time-wise.

"Our timetable is determined more by the sun than the clock," the report continued. "We eat at [1 p.m.] and dine at [8 p.m.], but the clock says it is [3 p.m.] and [10 p.m.]." 

BBC News Europe asked Spaniards what they think of a time zone change:

"You can change the hours to Pacific Standard Time and it still won't matter. The Spanish will always find a way to work less, eat later, party harder. They have built a culture and a reputation around their ungodly hours. And I hardly doubt they will change their lifestyle, and the tourism it generates, because of a technicality." -- Javier Brias, Madrid

"I am a Spaniard living in Catalonia, but my mother was born in the Canary Islands. In the Canary Islands the time zone is the same as in London or Lisbon, but despite that we cannot say there is a significant difference in the productivity, absenteeism or stress of Canary Islanders in comparison with people on the peninsula. I don't think a change in our time zone would make a difference in our lives or our productivity rates." -- Nayra MarchÃin, Barcelona

"We live according to the sun, not the clock." -- Lola Hidalgo Calle, Seville

"I live just south of Castellon, which has a roadside marker pointing out the exact spot where it aligns with Greenwich. So, if the east coast of Spain coincides with London it makes perfect sense that the time be in line with Britain, Ireland and Portugal." -- Kieran McGrath, Valencia

"Spanish culture, like every other, is not governed by time zones. It is governed by tradition, their age-old normal way of doing things. This report is nonsense. People eat, sleep and work according to the clock on their wall or the watch on their wrist. They do not eat one hour earlier in winter. God save us from so-called "experts". -- Eric Jackson, Villar del Arzobispo