When the clocks fall back an hour this weekend, it means more than just an extra hour in bed, says Camosun College psychology instructor Dr. Michael Pollock. The end of this year's daylight saving time also reignites the longstanding debate about whether we should keep changing our clocks twice a year or just get rid of this time change altogether.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, most Canadians will set their clocks back one hour as daylight saving time ends and the country returns to standard time. Currently, there is discussion about remaining on permanent daylight saving time, but Pollock says circadian research supports the benefits of sticking with standard time year-round.
"In countries like Canada that are far from the equator, switching to permanent daylight saving time would mean we would be going to school or work in the dark for most of the winter," says Dr. Pollock. "The really big problem with this is that getting early morning sunlight exposure is essential for keeping our brain's internal clock synchronized with the natural day-night cycle. Without that bright light in the early morning, our internal clocks will keep wanting us to sleep in and stay up late each day."
"This would be especially troublesome for adolescents and young adults, because at that age they are biologically driven to be night owls," Dr. Pollock adds. "Their nighttime sleep quality would be disrupted and their daytime attention levels would greatly suffer from having daylight saving time in the winter - when it was never designed to be implemented."
Dr. Pollock quips: "If instead of going with permanent standard time ( the gold standard'). we go with permanent daylight saving time, then this will result in Mornings Artificially Darkened (M.A.D.). In theory it sounds great but in practice in other jurisdictions, it's just failed."
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 a.m. bringing sunrises and sunsets back earlier with standard time.
