Science says, don't sleep on DST question
Experts say locking onto daylight time permanently will have disastrous effects
Many Albertans will undoubtedly view this October's referendum question on whether to ditch the switch or lock the clock as the least important decision to be made on the municipal election ballot.
After all, there are seemingly more weighty issues to consider.
Which mayoral candidates should lead Calgary and Edmonton, which counsellor to choose for your ward, which senators to elect and whether the equalization formula that sees a struggling Alberta contribute more than $20 billion net annually to the rest of Canada seem much more important than whether we stop having our time fall back one hour every fall and spring forward one hour every spring.
But according to sleep experts, no other decision on the ballot this fall has the potential to affect your physical and mental health more than the one regarding daylight time (DST).
Unfortunately, based on comments made by Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish in Thursday's media conference on the issue, it appears the UCP government is going to ask the wrong question and therefore get the wrong answer.
According to sleep experts, messing with our clock and locking onto daylight time permanently will lead to more accidents, less productivity, more cancer, heart attacks, obesity and diabetes as a result of delaying sunrise in the winter. This isn't conjecture. It's hard science.
University of Calgary psychology Prof. Michael Antle, whose research is focused on circadian rhythms — the internal clocks in our brains that help moderate our wake and sleep cycles — says the better question is whether Albertans want to lock our clocks into standard time, also known as natural time.
“That would be the healthiest option, by far,” said Antle, who is also a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine and an adjunct professor with the department of physiology and pharmacology. “The second best option would be to keep doing what we're doing now.”
The worst would be to change permanently to daylight time. By doing that, sunrise starts one hour later than it would naturally. Most people will argue that they'd rather have more light longer in the evening during our long winters that are defined by dreary short days, but studies show that preference is deadly.
During Thursday's news conference, Glubish referred to a survey the province held in late 2019 about whether to stop changing our clocks and adopt DST year round.
“We received more than 141,000 responses over a threeweek period,” he said. “It's clear that Albertans are passionate about this issue, but a change on this matter should not be made lightly.”
Sadly, that's exactly what it appears the UCP government is likely to do.
Antle says that 2019 survey didn't even ask Albertans about the option of keeping the clock at standard time, like Saskatchewan has always done.
“It's not just an arbitrary choice,” says Antle, the vice-president of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology. “There are consequences that are going to affect people's health, people's lives and the economy.”
Antle points to two studies that show this is one answer we cannot afford to get wrong.
A study headed by University of Pittsburgh economics Prof. Osea Giuntella shows us that later sunrises and therefore later sunsets (like we would have with permanent DST) lead to a 21 per cent greater likelihood of being obese, a 19 per cent increase in heart attacks, increased rates of diabetes and people sleeping 19 minutes less each night (115 hours per year).
Another study headed by Fangyi Gu, a U.S. professor of oncology, states that every 20-minute delay in sunset leads to the following increases in cancer: nine per cent more stomach cancer, 11 per cent more liver cancer, four per cent more prostate cancer, 13 per cent more leukemia, 3.7 per cent more breast cancer, 16 per cent more esophageal cancer and 10 per cent more uterine cancer. With DST we'll have a 60-minute delay in sunset, or a three-times greater delay than what was studied.
Antle says he has spoken with Glubish and his aides about making sure we get this question right. But judging by Glubish's answers to questions I posed to him Thursday, it doesn't appear that the seriousness of getting this wrong has sunk in.
“One of the things we're considering as we determine the exact nature of the question (on the referendum) is, of course, balancing the different views that we know are out there on this matter, but also recognizing the trend of where other jurisdictions are going,” he said.
“I've said before that there's a danger of acting in isolation on this, to be the only ones moving forward regardless of our choice, but there's just as much of a danger of not acting in isolation. So, there's a growing trend of other jurisdictions across Canada and in the U.S. who are focusing on standardizing on daylight time, on summer hours, yearround, and it's important that we consider that as we determine exactly what our question will be,” Glubish added.
Since when should we pose a question based on opinion? The question should be based on the science and what's best for Albertans, not on opinion or “trends.” We should set the trend.
As Glubish said, B.C. and Ontario have passed legislation to stay on permanent summer hours, though they'll only bring that legislation into force when neighbouring states or provinces also do so.
In the U.S., up to 31 states have had or are having a debate on if they should stay on permanent summer hours. Of those states, 17 have passed legislation or a resolution to adopt daylight time permanently, including Montana, Washington and Oregon.
Antle says the farther west people live in a given time zone, the worse the effect of year-round DST is on their health, because sunrise is delayed even more.
“If we move to permanent DST, in December our sunrise in Calgary will happen after 9:30 in the morning,” said Antle. “In Edmonton it will be closer to 10. In Grand Prairie, almost 10:30. That means kids will be having their first recess in the dark.”
Russia initially moved to permanent DST and quickly reversed it and moved to permanent standard time.
That's what Alberta should do and that's what the question should say. Make sure Glubish understands we should ask Albertans whether to permanently move to standard time, like Saskatchewan. His email is: Strathcona.sherwoodpark@assembly.ab.ca.