Hopefully that extra hour of sleep was sweet, as Daylight Saving Time (DST) officially ended at 2 a.m. Sunday, meaning the clocks have moved back an hour.

The change means your morning commutes will be brighter, however, your commute from work or walk home from school will be a little darker.

The end of DST also signifies that the days are getting shorter, as we approach the Winter Solstice, or shortest day of the year, set for December 21.

With the time change the sun will set at 5:04 p.m. Sunday evening, meaning many of us will now be driving home in the dark.

Safety officials say November can be the riskiest month for pedestrians, reminding people to wear light-coloured or reflective clothing.

Brian Patterson of the Ontario Safety League says this is the perfect weekend to focus on safety.

“Four winter tires for winter driving, while you’re doing that get those batteries so you can change your smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide detectors,” Patterson said.

Daylight Saving Time will return on Sunday, March 10, 2013, when we’ll switch our clocks ahead an hour, “springing forward” into the longer and warmer days.

While many clocks and electronic devices are now automatically synched to update as Daylight Saving Time ends, some won’t, so make sure you have double-checked your devices.

Dr. Colleen Carney, the director of the Sleep and Depression Lab at Ryerson University, says this is a good time to take advantage of the extra time to see how we can work extra sleep into our lives.

“Gaining an extra hour, considering that two-thirds of people say that they’re actually sleep deprived, it’s probably a really good thing, Carney said.

“It’s a small thing, but it’s probably something we’re going to enjoy on Sunday morning.”

It shouldn’t end here, however, as changing your sleeping habits to ensure a more consistent pattern is extremely important, according to Carney.

“The more regular you are in your sleep habits, the more robust and the easier it is for you to adjust to these changes,” Carney said.

“The better sleep, the better mood, attention, concentration.”