Set your clocks back, check your smoke alarm, and be careful on the roads

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — We will be getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend as the clocks will be rolled back one hour on Sunday as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end.

The president of the Canadian Sleep Society says it’s the best time to actually catch up on sleep and that if people are still tired it’s not due to the time change at all.

“That’s the key saying about the time change in the winter and often the news stories are that everybody feels more tired and this and that, and that’s more related to the progression into winter and loss of light so we just have less and less light,” says Doctor Charles Samuels.

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Samuels adds that extra sleep can also combat seasonal depression and it’s important to get vitamin D. He suggests the best way to do that is go for a walk outside or if you prefer to stay indoors, you can get a winter depression light.

Most of the country will back the switch back to standard time except for most of Saskatchewan, parts of northeast BC and areas of Ontario and Quebec they stick to standard time year round.

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Change your smoke alarm batteries

While you’re changing your clocks, this is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarm.

Vancouver Fire Chief Darrell Reid said in a tweet Saturday, that many people have died in house fires – seven so far this year – because their smoke alarms weren’t working, or when “smoking materials” were not extinguished properly.

“Tonight change your smoke and CO alarm batteries before you change your clocks!” he wries.

Falling back and driving hazards

Sgt. Collin Foster with the Calgary Police Collision Reconstruction Unit says there are a lot of factors when it comes to driving, and time changes are one of them.

“I know it sounds weird but those one-hour change differences can have a huge affect on your ability to operate vehicles,” he said. The time change means that the days are shorter and nights are longer, meaning it gets dark sooner.

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“We’re going to be a bit more tired behind the wheel. We’re not used to driving home in the same sort of lighting conditions that we’ve been experiencing over the last couple weeks,” he said. “The best way to describe it is a bit of a haze for a couple of days just while we get used to the time change.”

Foster says they are advising people to operate their vehicles with extra caution around the time change.

“I just want to make sure that people pay attention to driving,” he said. “Just give a little more effort to being aware about what’s going on and, like I said, get home, or get to the end of your trip, safely.”