Getting Up Without an Alarm

9 January 2012
7:58 PM

Sunrise at	10:41 AM	in direction	149°	South-southeast
Sunset at	3:15 PM	in direction	211°	South-southwest

Duration of day: 4 hours, 33 minutes (4 minutes, 55 seconds longer than yesterday)

As I mentioned earlier, moving here late in life may have contributed to the difficulty of our adjustment to the changes in climate and daylight patterns.  I don't know - we are still here.  But there is one thing I definitely don't like, waking up to an alarm clock.

When I took my first teaching job, I dutifully got up each morning based on the alarm clock letting me know it was time to rise.  I found that an hour before the alarm was set to ring, I would wake in a half state, dreading the sound of it.  Part of it was the jolt of suddenly being woken from a deep sleep.  Part of it was the reluctance to face getting out of bed in the dark.  I was losing sleep over the alarm. 

So, I noticed that I woke up at first light on the weekends without an alarm.  I calculated how long it would take to get ready in the morning and still make it to work on time. I had enough time.  I could do it without an alarm as long as I woke at first light.

That began an entire working career of waking at dawn and getting to work no later than 8:30 every day.  Coincidentally with that approach, I made sure I took jobs that did not require me to commute two hours through unpredictable traffic.   My sleep greatly improved, my attitude greatly improved, and my health improved.

So, I moved to Alaska and there is no early morning daylight for 3 months of the year.  This really bugs me.  I tried an alarm for awhile, with the same results as before.  I went back to not setting an alarm; anytime I wake, I ALWAYS think it is still very early in morning.  It's tricky you see.  Dawn and early morning were one and the same and now they aren't.  Imagine my surprise when I get up on the weekend to find out it is 10:00 am.

I rarely sense what time it is by myself.  I can determine it if I hear my husband up doing things (he is an early, early riser) or if the dogs want out.  You'd think I would know by some internal sense of how much I slept, but I just plain don't know on my own without first dawn.  The body's tendency is to conserve during these darkest, coldest months and I for one obey nature's conservation program.

We were in California with my dad as well as meeting friends last year; we stayed from solstice until the first week in January.  One of the things I loved about being home for so long was I woke at daylight every day.  As soon as it was light, I would sit up and honor the Divine by practicing mediation. Then I would make myself a cup of tea and by that time, Gary and I were ready for breakfast.  It was glorious.

Every winter here in Alaska I go through this time where I sleep way too late, and then stay up way too late because my circadian rhythm is not in synchronization with my environment.

Another thing that bugs me is that we are one hour early by the noon meridian in the sky during Standard time.  When clocks boast noon, it is actually 11:00 am.  Also, right after solstice, even though everyone is gaining, all the gained minutes are on the end of the day.  You can even lose morning minutes for a few days.  We have all noticed it is lighter later in the day now, but it is still pretty dang dark in the morning. 

Summer brings another set of issues (very pleasant ones) requiring adaptation for those of us raised at lower latitudes - but we will get to that later.