In 2020, a bill was passed in Ontario that (after it receives Royal Assent) will eliminate the switching back and forth between Standard Time (which takes place in the winter months) and Daylight Saving Time (which takes place in the summer months and makes people wake up an hour earlier), and make Daylight Saving Time permanent year round in that province. Many politicians in British Columbia, including Premier John Horgan, are looking to do the same here. However, Canadian sleep and circadian rhythm researchers are in consensus that a move towards permanent Standard Time would be the better option and that having permanent Daylight Saving Time would be the WORST option possible.
Q: Why is permanent Daylight Saving Time a BAD idea?
A: Because it will deprive us of crucial morning sunlight needed to keep our brain’s circadian clock in sync with the outside world
The human circadian clock (which tells your brain when to feel awake or sleepy) requires bright light at the beginning of the day in order to keep from its natural tendency of drifting a little later each day. If left unchecked over several weeks, these daily tiny drifts can add up to large (hours long) differences between what time your brain feels it’s like and what time the rest of the world is actually running on – a condition known as delayed sleep phase disorder or “social jet lag”, which has been associated with numerous physical and mental health consequences.
Since the daylength is at its longest during the summer months, there is no problem then with receiving light at the crucial time to keep the circadian clock in sync. However, during the winter months when the daylength is at its shortest, even with Standard Time most residents of Victoria are just barely able to get enough sunlight during their morning (~8 AM) commute to work/school before they shut themselves up inside their relatively dark offices/classes for the rest of the morning. In contrast, if Daylight Saving Time were to occur during the darkest days of the winter months in Victoria then the sunrise would not occur until 9 AM and commuters would be driving to work/school in the dark. Missing the critical window for sunlight first thing in the morning cannot be made up for by going outside at noon or later in the daytime since the circadian clock is insensitive to light at these times (which are referred to as the “dead zone” for shifting circadian rhythms). Thus, having Daylight Saving Time during the winter in Victoria would lead to the difficult (and dangerous!) situation of having to try to wake up and drive to work each morning when your brain is still trying to keep you asleep.