Canadians preparing to “fall back” an hour on Sunday likely won’t reap the full benefits of the end of daylight time, sleep experts say.
Despite gaining an extra hour on Nov. 5, many Canadians won’t actually use the added time where it’s most needed: in bed, sleeping.
This is mostly due to the time it takes for our circadian rhythms to adjust, pediatric sleep consultant Joleen Dilk Salyn says.
“It’s going to be an adjustment for everybody. . . . it takes about a week to really get into the groove of things and have your body, your circadian rhythms, readjust,” Dilk Salyn told CTV Winnipeg.
“Our whole body systems are regulated by the daylight pattern, so as soon as the brain is receiving that bright morning sun, it’s going to start to reset those internal rhythms.”
Until that happens, registered nurse Diana McMillan says Canadians will likely pass on the added hour of sleep.
“Unfortunately, most people don’t take that extra hour,” McMillan, associate professor at the University of Manitoba, told CTV Winnipeg.
Instead, McMillan says Canadians will just add the hour to our current “sleep debt” and rise at an earlier time instead of sleeping in. The added deficit in our length of sleep plus the decrease in available hours of sunlight leads to what McMillan calls an “impairment in vigilance.”
“Most of us are not are not getting our required amount of sleep . . . so we need to be very vigilant about watching for pedestrians, watching for cyclists, and it’s particularly dark because there is not much snow reflection as of yet.”
When it comes to helping children adjust, Dilk Salyn says kids are also inclined to continue to wake up an hour earlier for about a week.
The best way to help kids with the transition is to push forward the other scheduled routines in their lives.
“You have to move the meal times forward, their playtimes forward, their wake times forward, naps, bedtimes -- everything has to shift forward,” Dilk Salyn said.
Parents can get a head start by adjusting their children’s schedule by 15 to 30 minutes in the days leading up to Nov. 5.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg
