The time changes twice a year aims to reduce energy consumption, but what is it really

In 1918, during the First World War, the Canadian House of Commons passed the law on the use of daylight for the purpose of saving electricity and maximizing the use of the period of sunshine. In 2006, Canada passed the Legal Time Act to normalize the time between Canada and the United States, which recently adopted the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to save energy in a environmental optics. Since 2007, the daylight saving time has been 4 or 5 weeks longer since we are now moving to the second Sunday in March instead of the first Sunday in April and returning to normal time the first Sunday of November rather than the last Sunday of October. 

The time changes twice a year aims to reduce energy consumption, but what is it really? And is this contested reduction important enough to justify the disruption of the sleep of millions of Canadians? Various studies conducted in the United States, Britain and Australia in particular, conclude that the daylight saving time reduces very little energy consumption, has no impact or even slightly increases the energy consumption. consumption of electricity. 

Daylight saving time should reduce the use of lighting in the evening, but lighting is less than 4% of residential energy use. In recent years, incandescent light bulbs have been replaced by light sources that consume less energy. 

Does the time changes affect sleep? 

For most people, an hour of sleep causes disturbances only for a day or two. But some people will feel the effects longer. 

An offset of one hour can disrupt the duration and quality of sleep for several days. From the point of view of sleep, there are challenges. This transition period is difficult for some people, usually for those who are at extremes: those who sleep little are more at risk. Then their disruption could last a week. Falling back in the fall does not necessarily have a very positive effect either. If you go to sleep later, the sleep schedule can be disrupted as well and many people do not use this extra hour to sleep. People who suffer from depression, bipolarity or seasonal affective disorder are also more vulnerable to time changes.