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Don't "Fall" Out Of Your Routine
Plan to avoid the seasonal effects associated with the end of daylight saving time
For Queenslanders, this weekend was like any other weekend. For the rest of the country (and much of the world) it was a weekend where we lost (or gained) an hour of daylight at the turn of a clock.
The rationale for daylight savings time is to improve the match between the daylight hours with the activity peaks of a population. The recent transition out of daylight saving increases the available daylight in the morning by one hour in the southern hemisphere (or increases the available daylight in the evening if you are one of our northern hemisphere readers).
So does this transition have the potential to affect your activity levels? Evidence is mixed (and slim), but it seems that the onset of daylight has some beneficial effects on activity levels. In Western Australia a government study found a marginal increase in physical activity during daylight saving. By contrast, a Finnish study found that the transition out of daylight saving time was more detrimental (in terms of sleep quality) to individuals with the preference to morning activities.
For many the change in daylight brought on by the transition out of (or into) daylight saving time is the most immediate change that occurs as we head into the winter months. It is important to keep your activity levels up and adapt your routine quickly to this rather abrupt change. If you are an evening walker and the loss of daylight looks to negatively impact on your activity levels, think about adding a morning walk. If you are a morning walker, there may be some evidence that the change in time may have a negative (but short term) effect on your sleep patterns. Either way, be conscious of keeping your walking routine regardless of the change of season.
Article by Professor Kerry Mummery
Central Queensland University
