The Sun
I'm a person who leads a pretty nocturnal lifestyle. For example, it's 3.36am now, sure I'm going to sleep after this post but this time is pretty typical for me to turn in. Sure, there are some people who are crazier, but my most productive hours for work or study are between 10pm and 2am, which I guess... makes me pretty damn nocturnal.
One contradictory thing I've noticed about myself is, though, that I need the sun. I mean, really need it. There are days when I wake up at 3 or 4pm (pretty rare but still) and I feel like I've cheated myself out of a day. Even though I know that I went to sleep real late the night before and I'll be going to sleep real late again the same night to make up for it... that sheer lack of sun, daylight, real brightness (not artifical) just gets me down.
On days like that, by the time I get out of the house, it's already around 5pm... and in winter-time, I'll be driving under an increasingly darkening sky slowly becoming more and more depressed. I'm not sure what it is about the daylight, the sunlight that I need, but it's something.
It's not just the time factor either. On days when I wake up early, go to work at 10am and spend an entire day cooped up in the call centre, only emerging at 6.30pm when it's already dark. Now, sure, I got up pretty early (like around 8.30am, come on!), but that lack of sunlight... driving back into the city and it's already dark... it still gets me down something hardcore.
Even today, my shift was 10am - 2pm. I drove back into the city and went to study at Heidi's. At around 5pm, I became desperate to get out and enjoy the last 30mins or so of the daylight. A productive day - work and study - but that lack of sunlight never fails to get me down.
I've heard about Circadian Rhythms, the body's natural body clock that programs it to be awake during daylight and asleep during night. The daylight acts as some sort of agent waking something up in the brain and getting it excited and ready to do things (using really scientific language here). When this light is replicated artificially for long periods of time, it can drive a person nuts.
I wonder... does this daylight necessity affect anyone else or is it just my sleep-deprived brain...?
posted by LX @ 3:48 AM
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