November 8, 2026
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Q: I find that adjusting to the time change twice per year is getting more difficult. Many Canadian provinces and territories are looking to abolishing the time changes. Can you provide feedback on this and which time would be best: Daylight Saving Time (DST) or Standard Time (ST)?
A: To begin, let’s first learn about when and why DST started. The first countries to implement it were Germany and Austria in 1916, with the United Kingdom and other European countries following suit. The United States (U.S.) and Canada initiated DST at a national level in 1918. One interesting fact, Port Arthur and Fort William, known today as Thunder Bay, were the first towns to adopt DST back in 1908.
It appears that these time changes occurred sporadically over many years until the U.S. passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, resulting in the shift in time between DST and ST twice per year. The clocks would “spring ahead” one hour to DST to allow for longer daylight hours and reduce energy costs, such as fuel and electricity, and increase wartime production. In the fall, the time would “fall back” to the regular ST which many of us are currently using to schedule our day.
It has been more than a century since these time changes began and many people are questioning the benefit of them. It has been noted that energy savings with DST proved to be negligible and in some hot climates that use air conditioners, the energy costs were higher.
There are also negative impacts of the time changes on our health. In particular, the change from ST to DST that occurs in the spring, appears to be more harmful than the change from DST to ST that occurs in the autumn months. Generally, with the springtime change, when we move the clocks forward, we are, in essence, losing one hour of the day. Many of us lead such busy lives and are already sleep-deprived so though it is just a one-hour time change, it is enough to wreak havoc on our body. There is an increased risk of cardiovascular concerns (heart attack, stroke), and gastrointestinal concerns, and harmful effects on pregnancy and childbirth have been seen.
The one hour of time change also negatively impacts our productivity which has been shown on the workforce, with reduced alertness, reaction time, creative thinking and multi-tasking, to name a few. These same work concerns have also been shown on the roadways with increased vehicular accidents. Depression and missed appointments are also prevalent during DST. For many, it takes days or weeks for the body to adjust to the time change.
Every spring and fall, when it is time to change the clocks forward or back yet again, many wonder how much longer we will have to endure this. This biannual time change has been a topic of discussion and various provinces, territories and U.S. states have either considered abolishing the time change, or have already made the decision to abolish it.
Saskatchewan was the first Canadian province to get rid of the time change back in 1966 when it adopted a permanent Central Standard Time (CST). Yukon joined Saskatchewan in 2020 and abolished DST, adopting a permanent Yukon Standard Time.
Many of the provinces and territories have joined Saskatchewan and Yukon and have adopted either a permanent Daylight Time or Standard Time, year-round. It is more likely a matter of time (pun intended) that the only time change your body will need to adjust to is when you are travelling to a different time zone.
So, which permanent time would be most ideal? Many people would prefer a continuous DST in order to benefit from the longer daylight hours, especially in the summer. However, there has been much research on this topic and all experts believe that ST is the permanent time we should be choosing, year-round, as it matches best with our natural circadian rhythm. Though DST provides us with a later sunset, which we love in the summer months, it also means that we would have a later sunrise, causing concern in the winter months, with the sunrise near 9 a.m. in some places.
We discussed circadian rhythm in depth in previous Ask the Pharmacist columns, and we know the negative impact it has on our body when it gets out of sync. Though a continuous DST is only one hour off what our circadian rhythm expects, it has been shown to affect us more than we might be aware.
One of the main effects time changes have on our body, is a disruption of our sleep. Teenagers and adolescents are very susceptible as they try to manage sleep-deprivation and “social jet lag.” The average number of minutes of lost sleep each day during DST varies but a few examples are:
Employed adults - 19 minutes
Those who work before 7 a.m. - 36 minutes
Guardians of school-aged children starting before 8 a.m. - 27 minutes
Work after 8:30 a.m. with no children - zero minutes
Another study showed the negative impact on cognition. Entrance exams to colleges in the U.S. showed lower test scores in areas using DST compared to areas on permanent ST. This disparity was more significant in lower-income households (49 points lower) than higher income households (eight points).
A few more interesting facts to share about DST:
The U.S. adopted a permanent DST two times in the past and both times, reverted to the biannual time change. The switch back appears to be due to an increase in deaths of school-aged children due to the dark mornings.
Russia also tried a permanent DST from 2011-14 and has since been on a permanent ST.
DST was increased to seven months from six months in 1986 and extended to eight months in 2005.
It is said that the extension in 2005 was motivated by the candy industry in the hopes to sell more product with Halloween in DST.
If you would have asked us earlier, and if given a choice, we would have likely opted for a permanent daylight time. After much reading of what researchers, experts and previous attempts from other countries at permanent DST, it appears that ST is the better choice permanently.
For more information about this or any other health-related questions, contact the pharmacists at Gordon Pharmasave, Your Health and Wellness Destination. Also check the website at www.gordon-pharmasave.com/ and the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GordonPharmasave/.
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