Daylight Saving Time officially comes to an end this weekend — at 2 a.m. Sunday, to be precise.
And that means we'll get the hour of sleep we lost last March, when we moved our clocks forward.
CJAD 800's medical expert Dr. Mitch Shulman says while that can be good news for most of us who are chronically sleep-deprived, there are things to consider.
"As the daylight hours get shorter and shorter we have the increased risk of what we call Seasonal Affective Disorder. That's that carbohydrate-craving, lack-of-energy depression that people get into this time of year so do what you can to get outdoors when the sun is out, get exercise," he says.
He also points out that there is an increased risk of drivers and pedestrians getting into traffic accidents in the early evening hours — not because drivers and pedestrians can be groggy, as in the springtime, but because it can take some time to adjust to the fact that those hours will be dark.
But Dr. Mitch says overall, gaining that extra hour is beneficial — so long as we take advantage of that hour.
"I want more sleep. I wish people could give us more sleep, anything that can be done to improve the quality of our sleep is good, so take advantage of it, revel in the extra hour of sleep."