Insomnia is a recurring problem for many.
The older I get the more I am bothered by the condition. I have friends who report successive nights of being awake at 3 a.m., the elusive sleep genie nowhere to be found.
One acquaintance turned the wide awake hours into a productive endeavor. She thought of all the people and places over which she should be praying and from the darkness of her bedroom petitioned God on their behalf. Now she says praying has become a habit. I know the Lord appreciates her efforts, but I can’t wonder if He wakes her so she can continue.
How cool is that? To be sought out by the Lord so you can pray?
However, I don’t do well without sleep. I turned to management of my biorhythms. Go to bed at the same time. Rise at the same hour. Avoid screens at least an hour before bedtime. Drink a cup of chamomile tea. Listen to a tape of rain falling.
The regimen helped. My circadian rhythms leveled out. I reached a point where the routine produced regular sleep patterns. I thought I had cured myself.
And then comes. . . Daylight Saving Time!!!
Like a prowling avenger, the dreaded time change rolls into town, seeking whom it might disrupt. Waking times destroy pleasurable dreams. Meal times arrive an hour before hunger rings the dinner bell. Like zombies we trek through the first week, our biorhythms totally out of sync.
Aargh! I tried so hard!
Daylight Saving Time isn’t all bad. I like the extra daylight. In June, my husband and I love staying outside until after 10 pm, the sun still lighting the sky. Rising before the summer heat hits allows gardening and other sweaty chores to be done in the cool of the day. I know why some cultures take afternoon siestas.
But do they change their clocks for that?
I believe all advantages of DST can be accomplished without touching the hands on the dial. Get up earlier if you want. Change your business hours. Close the doors before the sun disappears from the evening. Work around the tick of the clock rather than change it to work around you. Anyone with me?
Your biorhythms will thank you. Your slumber will be sweet. Insomnia will be kicked to the curb.
Sweet dreams everyone.