Prof. Tami Martino, Department of Biomedical Sciences, co-wrote a commentary in The Globe and Mail on behalf of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology about why eliminating Daylight Saving Time and making Standard Time permanent is the healthiest option for Canadians.

Martion and colleagues wrote that changing the clocks twice a year has little economic benefit but  causes disturbances to our “internal clocks” that guide our biological rhythms.

They wrote that moving our “social time” closer to our natural “body time” would allow Canadians to sleep longer, which has been linked with several health benefits including a lower risk for obesity, diabetes and heart attacks.

Martino is the director of U of G’s Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations and researches how our circadian rhythms affect our cardiovascular systems, particularly how circadian disruptions increase the risk for heart disease.