Since 2019, there have been growing concerns regarding whether to keep Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Loretta Loh, a Business Accounting student, has never liked that it gets darker earlier during the fall and winter months.
“I feel like we should get rid of daylight saving time because it’s just not relevant anymore,” Loh said. “I believe it was created because farmers need to wake up earlier in the winter and this just isn’t our lifestyle anymore.”
Ontario tried to pass the Time Amendment Act (Bill 214) in 2020 which would put Ontario on DST permanently. Many provinces await the day they can ditch the stepping stool to turn their clocks ahead or behind.
Every province and state must agree to the time change, especially Quebec and New York. They would make-or-break the move to stop time from moving ahead by an hour and then back.
“We have an internal body clock and our bodies like this is not the time to sleep or wake up. It impacts us so negatively because when you change an hour of your sleep, it really messes with you,” Loh said.
“If I don’t get enough sleep, I definitely feel crankier and I can’t focus as much on class,” she said.
While many change their clocks without a second thought, others dread the idea. Especially those who suffer from seasonal depression, better known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Angel Rodrigez, a current pre-service firefighter education student, said he finds himself feeling down in the colder months.
“I just don’t feel great. I have a lot of friends that have to cope with their own depression and the daylight saving time definitely doesn’t help them at all either,” Rodriguez said.
SAD is a type of depression that can be triggered by changes in seasons. Symptoms include oversleeping, over- or under-eating, solitary confinement, and a loss of interest in their regular day-to-day.
“I really don’t know why we still have it to be honest,” Rodriguez said. “I wish we could get rid of it for good, it doesn’t serve a purpose.”
Not everyone seems to feel this way though. Some people have found a way to make light out of a dark situation.
Pre-service firefighter education student Veronica Visca said she feels indifferent about DST.
“I like to wake up and have the sun be out in the morning,” Visca said. “It’s definitely beneficial to a lot of people. But I do also like the sun being out later because I like to do activities outside after school.”
Visca said she can see how DST can affect someone’s mental health, especially depending on their schedule.
“You wake up and it’s dark. Then you come home from school, and it’s dark. It can be a bit discouraging,” she said.
Port Arthur, Ont., now part of Thunder Bay, was the first city to use DST in 1908, years before European countries adopted the practice to maximize sunlight in waking hours.
“There’s so much evidence out there that we need to get rid of it and we haven’t. I don’t understand why,” Loh said.