‘Nobody wants to be cold and in the dark’: Daylight Saving Time affect university students

First-year students Olivia Christie, left, and Erica Thistle, right, walk across campus. Both say the recent switch to Daylight Saving Time has affected their mood, sleep and motivation. (Credit: Brianna Lyttle/AQ)

On Nov. 2, autumn Daylight Saving Time (DST) began, with citizens being asked to turn their clocks back an hour. 

Sleep researchers have found negative effects from DST in terms of fatigue and motivation, with the Canadian Sleep Society recommending the abolishment of the practice altogether in 2023.

In a statement backed by researchers, they wrote, “DST imposes circadian misalignments, with a detrimental one-hour sleep loss upon the spring switch to DST and the fall return to ST with little evidence of extra sleep following the transition.”

University students can be a demographic especially susceptible to DST, since they’re trading sleep for homework. 

Ever since the time change, third-year STU student Mimi Martin has had a challenging time staying out of the house at night and getting up early in the morning, due to the sky being dark at both times of day.

“I find it's mostly the later evenings that I feel like I don't want to do anything because it's so dark … [if] the sky is awake, I am awake,” she said.

With the winter season slowly creeping in on Fredericton, Martin dislikes the combination of colder weather and darker days.

“I hate the cold. I am naturally a really warm person. So for the most part, the late fall is great weather, but the colder it gets, mixed with the darkness … nobody wants to be cold and [in the] dark.” 

First-year student Olivia Christie has also noticed changes in mood and motivation since DST began.

“For me, the sun has a really big effect on how I feel physically and mentally and when I'm not exposed to it, especially even getting some coming into the school, I tend to feel more stressed,” she said.

Christie has experienced a pattern of her immune system being more prone to sickness following the beginning of DST.

“I also find for myself, as soon as Daylight Savings happens, I get sick, and I also find that really prevalent within the theatre community,” she said. “I did production at FHS [Fredericton High School] for four years, so as soon as the time changed, everybody else got sick.”

Christie said she has managed the effects by adjusting her sleep schedule. 

The reading week break, which took place in mid-November, allowed her to catch up on sleep, but not motivation.

“I find with the time change, there was a very severe lack of motivation, so I didn't end up getting anything done. It almost hurt me more.”

Fellow first-year Erica Thistle echoed similar sentiments, noticing more fatigue and stress.

Even though DST means that winter and exam season are coming, for Erica, the stress increase allows her to find motivation. 

“It’s kind of had a positive side because the stress makes me bound to be really prepared for things. I feel like I’m almost over-prepared for some things.”

The Canadian Sleep Society recommended that if DST were to continue, they should take place on Friday nights to give more time for the average nine-to-five working Canadians to catch up on sleep before returning to work on Monday.

“Time changes should occur in early April and early October. Time shifts would then occur closer to Equinoxes and should be less disruptive since daylight and darkness would have more equal duration,” said the Canadian Sleep Society.