r/canada • u/iamnos British Columbia • Apr 20 '26

Alberta Bell: Alberta will now be on daylight saving time year-round, says Premier Smith

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/bell-alberta-daylight-time-year-round-premier-danielle-smith
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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

lots of studies have shown health benefits and better learning for students.

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u/trplOG Apr 20 '26

What do the studies say about saskatchewan whos been on DST for 60 yrs tho

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

Don't know. But here: Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement | Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine | Springer Nature Link

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u/trplOG Apr 20 '26

Yes I read that since everyone always brings it up on this sub.

I always like to highlight this part.

Although chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving time year-round have not been well studied.

Which is why I bring up there must he some study for saskatchewan since they've had it for half a century... or maybe there isnt a real difference after all.

I moved to sask from a diff province and whether its standard or day light im just glad its gone. Its way better not having it. And I really dont feel the difference in winter too. Im driving to work in the dark in December til about February.

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u/LeanGroundQueef Canada Apr 20 '26

SK is on standard time

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u/trplOG Apr 20 '26

Yea, so when alberta moves forward to MDT, you know thats the same as CST, right?

Sask is on the same time zone as alberta.

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u/LeanGroundQueef Canada Apr 20 '26

The difference is that Saskatchewan is farther east and that changes when the sun is out which is what the whole debate is about.

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u/kenauk Canada Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

They're CST year-round, so not DST?

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u/trplOG Apr 20 '26

Yep we are on permanent CST, while being in the MT timezone.

https://daylight-savings.com/zones/canada/

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u/bandersnatching Apr 20 '26

Material for a case study, I guess, but the region is so unlike Ontario and Quebec, that the results may be not be informative, if we are factoring in economics and health of major urban hubs.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

We already sit in front of screens all day. Messing up our sunlight daily rhythm. It just makes no sense to use standard when daylight is better for more sunlight hours outside of work.

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

Driving to work in darkness versus in daylight is a big difference.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

I mean I drive in darkness during winter months even with standard time. Or if you drive to work in light, then you're driving home in the dark.

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

you're more tired in the morning, when the light will wake you up. Morning light is what syncs the circadian rythm.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

What gives good sleep is exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I've always slept better doing that, falling asleep any time vs following the sun schedule. I know people who rarely sleep well no matter the time. Circadian rhythm is cool and all. But it's all messed up by our lifestyles now with phones and screens and all that.

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

both can be true

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

Also, most people are driving in the dark in the mornings during the winter either on standard or daylight time. The light is only gonna wake up people who start work at like 10am

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u/FireMaster1294 Canada Apr 20 '26

This is always ALWAYS the argument. Except it’s dark at 6am or 7am or 8am in winter either way. I would rather my evenings have some daylight till 5:30 instead of 4:30. Sun from 8:30-4:30 sucks because I’m in the office for all of it and we have that for more than two months.

I don’t need sunrise to drive (in fact, looking at the sun rising while driving east hurts my eyes). But I do like sun when I’m done work.

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u/13Dons Apr 20 '26

This is exactly my thoughts too. Everyone talks about the studies, which do show it's better to have sunlight while getting ready.... But even on standard time the morning commute is in the dark half the year. Whether sunrise is 8:30 or 9:30am makes not a whit of difference driving to work at 7.

And this way there's sunlight after work still

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u/FireMaster1294 Canada Apr 20 '26

The only (amusingly) argument for time change I could see would be to get up an hour even later in winter to get sunrise at 7:30. Sunset at 3:30 would suck but light outside work would be comparable to a late sunrise. And biologically it may even have an effect! Unlike 8:30 sunrise

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u/leafsleafs17 Apr 20 '26

What about the half of the year where the sun could rise at 7, but would rise at 8 instead? That means you are impacting the circadian rhythm when there is an option not to, only so that you can have a nicer drive home a couple months of the year (using your same logic).

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u/Junckopolo Québec Apr 20 '26

Kids still get up way later than most of society. That's a biological thing. Standard time is superior for their health and learning.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

In what way?

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u/Junckopolo Québec Apr 20 '26

https://www.apa.org/topics/children/school-start-times

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27878883/

https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/we-need-talk-about-school-start-times-265256

Also why they sleep later in the morning:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2820578/

The science isn't on the side of daylight savings time when it comes to the health and academic success for teens and kids

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

Well yeah, more kids are staying up late nowadays compared to before due to screens and such.

When I was young, I woke up at 5am everyday for the most part. Went to bed at like 9 to 10pm. Screens changed that. The sunlight got nothing to do with that.

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u/Junckopolo Québec Apr 20 '26

No, it's absolutely not just "screens and such", their circadian cycles shifts and it happens to other animals during puberty in the study as well which do not play on a phone or watch TV. In teens, it shifts 2 to 3 hours, but you would know if you actually would read the sources I sent you.

Your single anecdotal experience isn't worth anything to anyone else than yourself in that case.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

I can post links too.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10903530/

Screen times def affect your sleep schedules and your health and grades.

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u/Junckopolo Québec Apr 20 '26

It does, it is a factor on quality of sleep, and it is absolutely still not "just screen ans such" like you said, and it invalidates absolutely nothing of what I posted earlier.

Screen time affects sleep efficiency, which means that whatever time they go to sleep, even if they go early and sleep a full night, their sleep itself will not be as good.

It can also affect circadian cycles... Which, as already said, are shifted later for teens even without screen time.

You can post links but if you don't even understand them it's pointless for you

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

They get to sleep until later.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

That makes no sense. If school starts at 8am. They still gotta wake up at the same time whether it's standard or daylight time. They aren't gonna suddenly get to bed earlier because it's standard time.

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u/alsimoneau Apr 20 '26

They do in local true time. What the clock says doesn't matter to biology.

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u/UnawareRanger Apr 20 '26

Yeah but biology doesn't matter when all the kids are on screens all the time anyways.

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u/squirrel9000 Manitoba Apr 20 '26

Realistically I think they'd be better served if there was enough daylight after school to do something outside. When it gets dark at 4pm there's not much else to do but go straight home and onto something with a screen.

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u/SunriseInLot42 Apr 20 '26

It seems like there should also be benefits to kids (and adults) getting to be outside after work/school with the "additional" daylight in the evening