Experts specializing in sleep research caution that British Columbia’s move to adopt permanent daylight time may have negative implications for health, particularly among children.
Myriam Juda, an adjunct professor and sleep researcher at Simon Fraser University, highlighted the global consensus among scientists advocating for permanent standard time due to concerns about the adverse health and safety effects of permanent daylight saving time.
As per the decision, British Columbia will transition to daylight time permanently starting this weekend with no future clock changes.
One of the critics, Jamie Zeitzer, a Stanford University professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, expressed surprise that his research, cited by the B.C. government in the announcement, supported the change.
Zeitzer emphasized that from a scientific standpoint, a shift to permanent daylight time is not advisable and could have negative health implications, urging consideration of permanent standard time instead.
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Standard time aligns the sun’s peak around noon, evenly distributing daylight between morning and afternoon. Daylight saving time shifts the clock forward by an hour, resulting in less morning light and more in the afternoon.
Juda explained that this change can disrupt the circadian clock, which regulates sleep-wake cycles, emphasizing the importance of morning light exposure in synchronizing this internal clock.
She noted that morning light exposure influences the timing of melatonin release, affecting alertness at night and daytime fatigue, particularly impactful for teenagers with delayed sleep patterns.
Quality sleep plays a crucial role in the brain development of children, Juda added.
Communities like Vancouver and Victoria, situated on the western edge of a time zone, would face dark winter mornings under permanent daylight time, with sunrise potentially occurring after 9 a.m., resulting in children and commuters navigating in darkness without morning light exposure.
Juda estimated that most British Columbians would lose nearly half an hour of sleep on average each night following the transition.
Daylight time could lead to “social jet lag,” causing dissonance between daily schedules and natural light exposure, resulting in short-term grogginess and potential long-term health issues compounded by sleep deprivation.
Zeitzer’s team research in the U.S. suggested that an out-of-sync circadian cycle is associated with various adverse health outcomes.
