Clocks to spring forward this weekend as Daylight Saving time returns

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is just around the corner for 2024, with clocks set to 'spring forward,' as the idiom goes, this weekend.

When you go to bed this Saturday night, be sure to set your clock one hour ahead, because as of 3 a.m. on Sunday, March 10, DST is officially on, meaning all clocks will move an hour ahead.

It also means that the sun will be rising and setting about an hour later than the day prior, so, while the sun won't rise until roughly 7:45 a.m., it will be setting closer to 7:20 p.m., so no more commuting home from work in the dark.

While there's a lot to celebrate about DST returning, it does come with some drawbacks. Many folks report disruptions to their sleep, particularly with the advent of DST, where an hour of sleep is lost.

According to a survey conducted by Sleep Country, Ontarians are more likely to get annoyed by the lost hour of sleep than the residents of any other province, with 37 per cent of Ontario residents wanting DST to end due to its sleep deprivation.

It's not all bad, though; there are ways to prime yourself for success in the coming adjustment period to the new time.

Experts at UC Berkley recommend setting your alarm progressively 15 minutes earlier in the four days leading up to the time change in order to ease your body and sleep cycle into the new time change.

You can also, of course, simply go to bed an hour earlier on Saturday night to still get your eight hours, but with the city's 190th birthday party happening on Saturday night, that's not likely.

Love it or hate it, Daylight Saving Time is coming in hot, and I, for one, am thrilled for an extra hour of sunlight, even if that means a sleepy Sunday.