The practice of Daylight Saving Time in Canada: Its suitability with respect to sleep and circadian rhythms

Abstract

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks one hour forward from Standard Time (ST) in the spring and back again to ST in the fall. This commentary discusses the impact of bi-annual time changes on sleep and circadian rhythms and suggests avenues to minimize negative outcomes on the well-being of Canadian citizens. Ideally, ST should be close to solar time, meaning that daylight is equally distributed before and after noon time, i.e., when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. In Canada, some provinces are proposing to opt out of DST to either return to constant ST throughout the year or to implement permanent DST. National and international associations of clinicians and researchers on sleep and biological rhythms and in health sciences have positioned themselves in favour of permanent ST. In Canada, the Canadian Sleep Society and the Canadian Society for Chronobiology have also issued such a position. This commentary focuses on the implications of previous research findings for sleep and health in Canada given its northern geographical location. It concludes with a research agenda focusing on the Canadian context.