Daylight savings time ending Sunday
Don’t make it a big deal says sleep doctor, and spend more time outside
It is just about time to “put your clock back for the winter”, with daylight saving time ending on Sunday, although its controversy remains.
Daylight savings’ end signals the end of summer and long summer evenings. On the plus side, everyone will get an extra hour to sleep-in on Sunday morning and mornings will be lighter.
However, the one-hour change can wreak havoc on people’s circadian rhythms, creating a jet lag that can last days or even weeks — particularly in spring when an hour of sleep is lost, according to the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser.
Changing the clocks is associated with negative impacts beyond sleepiness, with a Finnish study finding a small but significant increase in the risk of being hospitalised for ischemic stroke in the first two days after a clock change in either direction, the office reports.
In Canada, which started its daylight saving time in March for the northern hemisphere summer, the health risks from having to change the clocks twice a year prompted Irene Shone to start a petition calling for daylight saving time to be done away with.
The petition has been supported by more than 85,000 people and is backed by the Canadian Sleep Society, which said daylight savings enforces later darkness during the summer, favouring delayed bedtime and more sleep loss, according to CTVNews.
In New Zealand, daylight saving time has long been debated for both its benefits (including more light in the evenings) to its woes (from the jet lag adjusting and darker mornings).
In 1984, the Northland dairy farming community of Ararua, near Matakohe, decided to not observe daylight savings, rejecting the “spring forward” to reduce time spent milking in the dark in the mornings.
Daylight savings was last adjusted in 2007, with a three-week extension.
A survey the following year found 82 per cent of Kiwis approved of the extension, although only 54 per cent of dairy farmers were in favour.
In 2021, the South Island tourist town of Te Anau declared it would stay in daylight saving time yearround, although the move seemed to be more of an advertising campaign than a lobby for yearround daylight savings.
The Office for the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser argues that while there are negative impacts associated with shifting the clocks, it is far from settled whether permanent NZ standard time or permanent daylight saving time would be better.
One j ournalist has even suggested making New Zealand’s time half an hour forward, yearround.
Sleep Well Clinic medical director Dr Alex Bartle said whatever happens with daylight saving time in New Zealand, it will upset some people.
“Some people really like it [having daylight savings]. I don’t mind it — I like having a bit of extra light in the evenings,” he told the Northern Advocate.
But daylight savings time can be particularly difficult for parents with young children because it means trying to put them to sleep at night when it is still light and trying to get them up in the morning when it is still dark.
“But if you can get your children down all right, you’ve got a bit more time to enjoy the evening sun,” Bartle said.
To help adjust to the change of the end of daylight savings, Bartle recommends Kiwis spend time outside in the light as soon as possible.
Going for a morning walk is the best thing to do, he said: “Spending time outside is always good for sleep.”
But Bartle also said if New Zealanders want a good night’s sleep, they shouldn’t stress too much about the time change.
“It’s a little bit of an upset but it’s really pretty minor compared with a whole lot of things, including compared with jet lag experienced travelling from New Zealand.
“You wouldn’t get worried about having a heart attack by travelling to Sydney yet that’s a two- to three-hour [time difference], and Europe is even more,” he said.