Sunday, March 1, 2009

more on sleep

I'm not sure if this is a sleeping disorder or not but as spring approaches I sleep less. It's the opposite of Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I think it's due to how fast the daytime sun changes this time of year.  The day-length follows a sine curve.  At winter solstice we are at the bottom of the curve (shortest day of the year) and it's relatively flat, so daytime length changes slowly.  Same thing happens at summer solstice when we are at the top of the curve (longest day of the year).  During the equinoxes we are are at the points where the daytime length changes the most every day.  Right now, sunrise is changing by 1-2 minutes per day where I live (Wisconsin).  On March 21 it will change by 2 minutes per day.  Back in December it didn't budge for several days.  I think this change of sunrise is what makes me wake up early, moreso than the actual time itself.  It's just a guess, but all I know is, every spring I get a bit of insomnia.  I still sleep okay but I wake up early and I feel pretty energetic.  I don't seem to mind the lack of sleep.  But I fear it's unhealthy since I'm told I should get 8 hours a night.   I probably sleep closer to 6-7 hours per night.  Sometimes 5 though.  rarely more than 7.  

4 comments:

Howard Veit said...

Barb,

John McDougall has a newsletter on sleep that is pretty good. I think he said that around 6 is right for most people and that more than 8 is not good because it may be a sign of depression. I have been doing 8-9 hours and sometimes I nap during the day. My sleep is deep and I feel very good, so I am not worried about it. Sleep is an interesting subject. Some scientists think it is more important than diet. I read a book on the subject last year. If I can find the reference, I'll send it to you.

Howard Veit said...

Barb,

Here is the link the book on sleep I mentioned. The Promise of Sleep by William Durant.

http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Sleep-Medicine-Connection-Happiness/dp/0440509017

Howard Veit said...

Ooops! It's William Dement.

kneecap said...

thanks, I will definitely look into this. I don't think I get enough sleep. I think I need 7 hours a night and I'm not quite there.

-barb