Opinion: How permanent daylight saving time could affect schools

Sleep is fundamental to well-being. Decisions to end bi-annual clock changes and remain on permanent daylight saving time (DST) in B.C., the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have consequences for many Canadians due to potential sleep disruption.

The health risks of transitioning to DST, including increased heart attacks and fatal car accidents, have led most sleep and chronobiology experts, including the first author of this story, to advocate for ending seasonal clock changes in favour of permanent standard time.

Governments justify opting for DST to provide later daylight for a range of reasons, including facilitating evening activities, alignment with other areas and promoting health.

While permanent DST provides more daylight in the evening hours — something sometimes appealing for those with flexible schedules and access to outdoor spaces — it comes at the cost of later sunrises.

Being aware of the potential effects of permanent DST and how to mitigate these will be important for schools.

Due to the short winter days experienced in Canada, dawn will now occur later than the start times for many schools in many of the regions opting for permanent DST.

Communities to the north and west within a time zone will have sunrises later than 8 a.m., or even later than 9 a.m. for a sizeable portion of the school year.

In the U.S., the the Sunshine Protection Act seeks to make daylight saving time permanent.

Because winter days are shorter in Canadian northern areas than the more southern United States, the negative consequences of the move to permanent DST will be more profound for Canadians.

A major concern around choosing the right clock for society has to do with our body’s internal circadian clock. This circadian clock regulates our daily 24-hour rhythms, including our sleep-wake cycles. This clock naturally follows daylight, so as our days get shifted later with DST, our body rhythms also get shifted later.

One challenge that many people will face with permanent DST is social jetlag — a mismatch between what our body clock wants to do (follow the sun) and what our school or work schedules expect us to do (follow our alarm clocks).

DST worsens social jetlag in two ways. First, DST moves our social schedule an hour earlier relative to dawn. For people with earlier schedules, such as students and teachers, this means waking earlier than our bodies want with the later dawns during fall and winter. Second, later sunsets delay when our bodies want to fall asleep, leading to less sleep overall.

Social jetlag also erodes health in several ways, raising rates of depression, cardiovascular disease and metabolic diseases. How a person will respond to permanent DST depends on both their work or school schedule and their chronotype. Those with flexible schedules can adapt their sleep and activity schedules, but this isn’t a luxury afforded to many.