End of Daylight Saving Time can disrupt routine, impact mental health

We’ll be losing an hour of sunlight this weekend, but we will be getting an extra hour of sleep as daylight saving time takes effect Sunday.

The clocks will be turning back an hour at 2 a.m local time Nov. 7 which means going forward, it will be lighter earlier in the morning but will grow darker earlier in the evening. The sun will start to set at around 4:40 p.m, but it’ll only get darker earlier as we head into the winter season.

Pamela Findling is with the Canadian Mental Health Association. She is encouraging British Columbians to be kind to themselves as the change in routine could impact our mental health and wellness.

“When our routines are interrupted, for things like sleep and exercise and eating … when you don’t have light, when you expect it to be like that, it takes a toll on mental wellness.”

She says it will take time to adjust so you might not feel like yourself for a few days or even weeks, “And that’s okay, it’s perfectly normal to take some time to adjust to that change.”

“It’s important that people be gentle with themselves, and maybe kind to themselves and to others,” she adds. “Be aware to expect some change over the next couple of weeks and go back to what works for you. So things like exercise, sleeping, eating properly, getting together with friends and family and socializing.”

While it can be hard to motivate yourself during this time, she emphasizes you take your time, and “try and do the things that keep you healthy and happy and motivated.”

Legislation was passed in B.C. to stop setting the clocks back before the pandemic, but until the U.S. states in the Pacific time zone get on board — we can’t scrap it alone.

A recent poll shows that most Americans want to avoid switching between daylight saving and standard time, though there is no consensus behind which should be used all year.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds only 25 per cent of Americans say they prefer to switch back and forth between standard and daylight saving time, when the sun rises and sets one hour later in the summer than it would during standard time.

Forty-three percent of Americans say they would like to see standard time used during the entire year. Thirty-two percent say they would prefer that Daylight Saving time be used all year.

Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time.

Daylight savings time returns at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Mar. 13, 2022.