For the first time, a few provinces in Canada (Manitoba, Alberta & British Columbia) did not turn their clocks back on November 1, 2026, while much of Canada and the United States turned their clocks back for the end of daylight saving time.

As fall brings shorter days, longer nights, and less daylight, our sleep, energy, and mood can also be affected.  With seasonal and time changes, we have come to notice that this often explains why we may feel more tired, less motivated, or have changes in our mood. This one-hour difference can really disrupt our familiar routines. 

Now imagine experiencing these changes without fully understanding why things feel different or being able to explain what is bothering you. For someone living with symptoms of dementia, changes in daylight, familiar routines, sleep patterns, and the surrounding environment can be much harder to navigate.

Why Time and Seasonal Changes Matter in Dementia Care

Our brains rely on familiar routines, environmental cues, and natural daylight to help regulate sleep, mood, alertness, and daily activities. For someone living with dementia, these processes may already be affected by changes in the brain.

Caregivers may notice a variety of changes as daylight decreases and familiar daily patterns shift, including: 

• More pacing or wandering: Walking repeatedly through the home, going from room to room, or seeming unable to settle.
• Repeated questions: Asking what time it is, when someone is coming, or when they are going home, more frequently.
• Seeking to leave: Asking to go home, looking for family members, or becoming preoccupied with leaving the house or care home.

It is important to remember that these changes do not affect everyone in the same way. The key for caregivers is to recognize that changes in daylight, sleep patterns, and familiar routines can influence how a person experiences and responds to their surroundings.

What Is Happening Inside the Brain? Understanding the Body Clock

To understand why daylight matters, we first need to understand something called the circadian rhythm.

Our bodies have an internal 24-hour timing system that helps regulate when we feel awake, alert, hungry, sleepy, and ready for rest. This is our circadian rhythm, often referred to as our internal body clock.

It influences several important functions, including: 

• Sleep and wakefulness
• Body temperature
• Hormone production
• Alertness and energy levels
• Daily patterns of physical activity

One of the most important signals that helps regulate this internal clock is light.

How Light Communicates With the Brain

Light entering our eyes sends information to a small area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), located in the hypothalamus.

Think of the SCN as the body’s timekeeper. It helps coordinate our internal rhythms with the natural light-dark cycle. When morning light enters our eyes, it signals to the brain that it is daytime. This helps regulate alertness and the timing of other body functions.

As daylight decreases in the evening, the brain receives signals that it is time to prepare for rest. The hormone melatonin, which helps regulate sleep, normally rises in response to darkness.

This process is not simply about feeling sleepy. 

Our internal body clock helps regulate many functions throughout the day, including sleep and wakefulness, body temperature, hormone release, digestion, appetite, energy levels, and alertness. 

In someone living with dementia, changes in the brain can affect the systems responsible for regulating this internal clock. Time changes and shorter days can add to this disruption by shifting familiar routines, reducing exposure to natural daylight, and changing the cues the body relies on to distinguish day from night. This can make it even harder to maintain regular sleep patterns, stay oriented, and adjust to daily activities.

Practical Strategies Supported by Understanding

The goal is not to control the person or force them to follow a schedule. It is to create an environment that provides predictable cues, supports the body’s natural rhythms, and reduces unnecessary confusion.

1. Maintain Consistent Daily Routines

Familiar routines provide important structure and help the person anticipate what happens next. Try to maintain consistent times for:

• Waking up and going to bed
• Meals and snacks
• Personal care
• Physical activity
• Social activities and visits

If adjustments are necessary, introduce them gradually rather than making several changes at once.

For people who have family members living in different time zones, remember that appointments, phone calls, and visits may need to be rescheduled when other jurisdictions change their clocks.

2. Make Daylight Work for You

Natural daylight is one of the strongest environmental signals that helps regulate the body’s internal clock.

Whenever possible:

• Open curtains and blinds in the morning.
• Encourage the person to spend time near a bright window.
• Arrange outdoor walks or activities during daylight hours.
• Keep commonly used rooms well lit during the day.

Even when the weather is cloudy, spending time outdoors can provide more natural light than remaining inside.

3. Consider Circadian or Tunable-White Lighting

Circadian or tunable-white lighting systems can be programmed to provide brighter, cooler-white lighting during daytime hours and warmer, softer lighting in the evening.

• Bright light therapy lamps: Specially designed lamps that provide bright light to compensate for reduced daylight. Often used in the morning to help regulate sleep-wake rhythms and reduce symptoms of winter-pattern Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
• Sunrise alarm clocks (dawn simulators): Gradually increase light in the bedroom before wake-up time, simulating a natural sunrise. They can make waking up easier during darker mornings.
• Smart lighting and adjustable LED bulbs: Allow caregivers to adjust brightness and colour temperature throughout the day. Brighter, cooler-toned lighting can be used during daytime, with softer, warmer lighting in the evening.
• Motion-activated nightlights: Automatically illuminate hallways, bathrooms, and bedrooms when someone gets up. They can reduce shadows, improve visibility, and help prevent falls.
• Smart plugs and programmable timers: Allow lamps to turn on and off automatically at familiar times, helping maintain consistent lighting routines even when natural daylight hours change.

How We Respond Matters

Even when we cannot prevent confusion or changes in behaviour, how we communicate can make a meaningful difference. Rather than correcting or arguing, acknowledge the person’s feelings, offer reassurance, use simple language, and give them time to respond. Sometimes, a calm voice and a few reassuring words, such as “You’re safe here. I’m staying with you,” can provide more comfort than lengthy explanations.

When it comes to changing seasons, we don’t all experience them in the same way.  What we can do is change how we prepare for them and how we support those living with symptoms of dementia. 

Education helps us understand what may be happening. Observation helps us recognize what is happening for the individual. Compassion helps us decide how to respond. When we bring all three together, we create better opportunities for comfort, safety, dignity, and meaningful connections.

At Dementia Solutions, we’ve made it our mission to demystify dementia behaviour and continue to explore person-centred, creative, non-pharmacological solutions to manage dementia-related behaviours. We believe that awareness creation and skill-building through education is the most effective and powerful tool we have to promote and maintain the well-being of both the person with dementia and their caregiver.