More Canadian provinces are ending time changes.
asserted
provinces → end → changes
What does it mean for your health?
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it → mean → health
Sleep scientists say ending the switch is good, but permanent daylight is the wrong choice
Millions of Canadians will turn their clocks back one hour this weekend, while millions of others will not.
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millions → say → others
This divide is putting Canadians under different time systems — with potentially different consequences for their health.
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divide → put → health
Most of British Columbia, as well as Alberta, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are no longer changing their clocks twice a year, joining Yukon and most of Saskatchewan.
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Most → change → Saskatchewan
Most of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces will still turn their clocks back on Nov. 1 for the end of daylight saving time.
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Most → turn → time
Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced Wednesday that his government is moving to end the twice-yearly clock change, but it has not yet decided which time the province will keep.
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province → announce → time
He said that decision will be made after consulting experts.
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decision → say → experts
Research suggests permanent standard time — the time we return to in the fall — is more closely aligned with the body's internal clock than permanent daylight time, which several provinces have chosen.
uncertain
provinces → suggest → which
Here's what winter time would look like across Canada under proposed time-zone changes
Joseph De Koninck, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa, has studied sleep for decades.
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studied → look → decades
He said the springtime change is the most problematic because people lose an hour of sleep when they set their clocks forward, creating a mismatch between the body's internal biological clock and solar time.
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they → say → clock
De Koninck explained that our biological clock uses light to synchronize itself.
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clock → explain → itself
As daylight changes with the seasons, our circadian rhythms adjust gradually.
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rhythms → change → seasons
Making a one-hour adjustment all at once, however, is much more difficult.
"
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Making → make → adjustment
We are able to adapt, but it's not optimal for our health."
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it → adapt → health
As one of Canada's northernmost major cities, Edmonton will see winter sunrises as late as 10 a.m. under Alberta's new permanent daylight time.
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Edmonton → see → time
Why morning light matters
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light → matter → ?
Michael Antle, head of the University of Calgary's psychology department and a professor who studies circadian rhythms, said permanent standard time would have been better for Alberta.
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time → study → Alberta
Because of the province's northern latitude and position within its time zone, it already has late winter sunrises, Antle said.
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Antle → have → sunrises
Permanent daylight time will push them forward another hour.
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time → push → them
"It's not the choice I would have made," he said of the province's decision.
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he → make → decision
Antle said daylight time essentially means society has agreed to get up and go to work or school an hour earlier.
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society → say → work
Most people's circadian clocks run slightly slow, making them somewhat "night owlish," he said.
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he → run → ?
Morning light helps speed up that clock.
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light → speed → clock
Michael Antle, a University of Calgary psychology professor, says permanent standard time is healthier because it better aligns with people's body clocks.
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it → say → clocks
When morning light arrives later, there can be a mismatch between what the body wants to do and what work or school requires.
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work → arrive → what
Antle described this effect as "social jetlag."
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Antle → describe → jetlag
Antle pointed to population studies that found people exposed to later sunsets slept less and had higher rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
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people → point → obesity
He also cited Russian research that found winter depression among young people increased while Russia observed permanent daylight time.
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Russia → cite → time
Why researchers say permanent daylight time is a bad idea
Both researchers distinguish between the disruption caused by changing the clocks and the effects of living on daylight time year-round.
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researchers → say → time
Antle said the spring change creates a sudden shift that can leave people feeling as though they're living on the wrong time for several weeks.
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they → say → weeks
Permanent daylight time would extend that mismatch through the darkest months of the year.
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time → extend → year
He would prefer permanent standard time.
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He → prefer → time
Continuing to spring forward and fall back would be a compromise, he said, preserving later summer evenings without the longer-term winter mismatch.
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he → continue → mismatch
For thousands of workers, lifelong time-zone math will go out the window when B.C. stops changing clocks
Time zones in Canada are getting complicated.
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zones → go → Canada
These maps lay them out
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maps → lay → them
Night owls who work regular daytime jobs may struggle the most because they already find it difficult to wake up early, Antle said.
uncertain
Antle → work → jobs
Those darker mornings are also having a real-world impact.
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mornings → have → impact
Ski hills in Alberta's Bow Valley, for example, are delaying their opening times this winter to give staff more daylight to prepare the slopes before skiers arrive.
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skiers → delay → slopes
But most schools and workplaces have less flexibility to change their hours based on when the sun is up.
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sun → have → hours
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
