The Biological Cost of Permanent Daylight Time
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
As Canadian provinces abandon the clock shift, sleep scientists warn that choosing permanent daylight time over standard time ignores human circadian rhythms.
Several Canadian provinces, including Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories, have ended the practice of changing clocks twice a year. While Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon recently announced his government will also end the shift, the province has not yet decided which time to maintain.
As CBC News first reported, sleep researchers warn that opting for permanent daylight time—rather than permanent standard time—creates a dangerous mismatch between solar time and the body's internal biological clock. Joseph De Koninck, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa, notes that while humans can adapt to these shifts, it is not optimal for health.
Michael Antle, head of the University of Calgary's psychology department, argues that permanent daylight time essentially forces society to start work or school an hour earlier. Because morning light is necessary to synchronize the circadian clock, later winter sunrises—which could occur as late as 10 a.m. in Edmonton—lead to what Antle calls "social jetlag."
Antle cites population studies linking later sunrises to increased rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, as well as Russian research showing a rise in winter depression among youth during periods of permanent daylight time. While some businesses, such as ski hills in Alberta's Bow Valley, have adjusted operating hours to accommodate the darkness, Antle notes that most schools and workplaces lack such flexibility.