B.C.’s new permanent daylight time: How darker mornings will affect our lives

“We are adopting something that is going to create a situation where we don’t have an alignment between circadian rhythms and what the clock is telling us and what the sun is doing,” said Hall.

Biologically, humans are set to respond to “sun time,” said Hall. Sun time, or solar time, is the measurement of time based on the position of the sun. Standard time is the closest to sun time.

“Our biology follows that,” said Hall. “Our melatonin secretions stop in the morning, and our cortisol levels, which govern our alertness, begin to go up and reach their highest levels at around 10 a.m. We reach our peak cardiovascular efficiency and muscle strength at about 5 p.m. melatonin secretion begins at around 9 p.m.”

Staying on daylight time means our bodies will still be secreting melatonin when we rise. Younger children will have a harder time going to sleep at night if they see it is still light outside, and have a hard time getting up in the dark in the morning, said Hall.

Teenagers are at even greater risk.

“This absolutely could impact sleep and mood,” said Lam. The misalignment of our circadian rhythms with the solar patters will create “social jet lag,” which occurs when our social schedules tell us we should be up and awake at a certain time, but our body clock tells us we should still be sleeping.

Lam suggests anyone with “seasonal affective disorder” get outside in the early morning, or use a light therapy lamp in the mornings to regulate the body’s internal clock. “Light exposure will help with fatigue, trouble getting up in the morning, and mitigate appetite and weight gain,” said Lam.

Patrick Baylis, an associate professor of economics at UBC, and co-author on the study with Lam, said the circadian rhythm misalignment is the “fingerprint” of various social and economic outcomes.

Economic outcomes include reductions in productivity, student performance and test scores that may be connected to “social jet lag,” said Baylis. According to one study included in the Lam/Baylis analysis, “Workers on the late-sunset side of U.S. time-zone borders earn about 3.5 per cent less and work fewer hours than those on the early-sunset side, suggesting an economic cost of social jet lag.”

So what can we do to reduce the negative effects of this circadian misalignment?

Try to keep children on daily routines following the clock, said Hall, even if it’s dark in the morning or still light when they go to bed. For teenagers and adults, try to practise good sleep hygiene — screens off an hour before bed time, and get in bed with a good old-fashioned book. Most importantly, when you feel the urge to wind down, follow it.

Hall also recommends getting children out in the afternoon for natural light exposure to try to make up for the loss of morning light.

Dr. Curtis May, a medical health officer with Fraser Health, said everyone needs to keep safety in mind during darker mornings. “Have more visible clothing and reflective gear, flashlights or headlamps, or a flashing keychain hanging off your bag so people can see you.”

Trace Acres, a program director for Road Safety at Work, a WorkSafeBC program, said everyone needs to adjust their driving to the conditions, as darker mornings will add to other difficult winter conditions such as rain, fog and snow.

“Give yourself more time in the morning,” said Acres. “Watch for pedestrians, cyclists, wildlife and people working on the roads, as well as recycling and garbage collectors who will be starting their shifts in the darkness.”

Although ICBC statistics show a 10 per cent increase in the average number of crashes in the Lower Mainland during the late afternoon commute in the two weeks following the end of daylight time compared to the two weeks preceding the transition, other studies suggest conflicting data. It remains to be seen whether the move to permanent daylight time will improve things or make them worse.

ICBC could not provide any comment due to the electoral transition.

Darkness, fog, rain, groggy mornings, social jet lag. What could go wrong?

dryan@postmedia.com