Daylight savings

Fall Back or Fall Asleep? The Great Daylight Saving Time Debate!

Clocks fell back this weekend in Canada, bringing both joy and frustration. Dive into the debate and discover tips to survive the change! 🌙🕰️

This past weekend, Canadians across the country set their clocks back one hour in the annual ritual of ending daylight saving time. While many celebrate this opportunity for an extra hour of sleep, others aren’t quite as enthusiastic. With the arrival of November, we bid adieu to those long summer evenings and say hello to shorter days and longer nights. But why do we even bother with this biannual clock tweaking in the first place?

The Standard Time Act of 1918 first introduced daylight saving time to conserve energy during World War I, and since then it's had quite the rollercoaster ride in terms of popularity and implementation. Some people are all for it, enjoying that extra hour of snooze, while others voice their frustrations on social media about the confusion and disruption it can cause in their daily routines. You can never please everyone, right? So, how do you cope when the clocks fall back? Sleep experts suggest gradually adjusting your bedtime in the days leading up to the change—after all, nobody likes feeling like a zombie after losing an hour of sleep!

Interestingly, there are serious health implications tied to this time-shifting gimmick. Research shows that the disruption to our circadian rhythms can impact our serotonin and melatonin levels, potentially leading to mood swings and a spike in health issues post-time change. So, while we enjoy that extra hour of Thanksgiving leftovers, our bodies may be feeling quite the contrary!

As advocacy grows around ‘locking the clocks’ and eliminating daylight saving time altogether, the debate grows louder. Advocates for keeping with standard time all year round argue that it could benefit mental health and increase productivity. Until that's decided, we’ll just have to cozy up with our pumpkin spice lattes (or their Canadian equivalent with extra maple syrup!) and try not to hit snooze too many times on the alarm clock while adjusting to our new routine.

Did you know that not all provinces in Canada observe daylight saving time? For example, Saskatchewan has opted out completely, while others like British Columbia are toying with the idea of locking their clocks year-round! Or how about this: The practice was only introduced in Canada during the First World War, and some regions have been questioning its relevance ever since!