From the Counselor's Desk: health

Image: Google

If you've ever flown on a commercial airplane, you've no doubt sat through the emergency shpiel given before take-off. My favorite part is the oxygen mask: In the event of an emergency, I am to put the mask on myself first so that I may help others around me.

This instruction is also true of daily living. Some of us are givers, and give-give-give until we have nothing left for ourselves and wonder why we're always tired, out-of-steam, anxious and not very happy.

The oxygen mask represents making self-care the primary priority. It's literally our life-line that must be attended to daily. Are you eating at least three times a day with healthy snacks between? Drinking 8 cups of water? Getting regular exercise? Waking up refreshed after a good night's sleep? Having FUN?

If we're not at our best, how can we expect to be of any use to others?

Do not, however, confuse this with being selfish (which I think is a horrible word, but that's another blog post). Taking care of ourselves is mandatory, because...when you think about it...you're all you've got.

Put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then proceed to assist others. (Complimentary peanuts and soft drinks will be distributed momentarily.)

I love this time of year. I can smell Spring coming, and the milder weather means we can put the windows down in the car, the garden is starting to grow, and Jumpin' Jacks is open! (Woot woot!) It also means Spring Break and the days start getting longer. Huzzah!

There's only one caveat to this blissful Spring Fever mindset: We move the clocks an hour forward, which means an hour less sleep. Don't know about you, but the change to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday has thrown everything out of whack.

I'm not tired at the time I'm "supposed" to wind-down at night, and instead of falling asleep within the first ten minutes, I lay in bed for an hour. (Only got 4-1/2 hours last night. Yikes.) The 4:30am alarm that I was used to is now rousing me at what was 3:30am last week. (No wonder the gym is empty.) As I sit here writing this, I'm chugging down the largest coffee the cafeteria sells because I could so fall asleep at my desk right now. (Caffeine is my friend today.) Can you relate?

So what's really going on? Here is an explanation of why we have trouble adjusting and some interesting facts about the biological impact of Daylight Savings Time:

(Couldn't resist...guess I'm punchy from
serious lack of sleep)

Our circadian rhythm, nature's built-in mechanism that affects our behavior, is triggered primarily by the amount of light and darkness in our environment. Changes in daylight hours disrupts the release of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, and interrupts our circadian body clocks. Interference with the body's natural processes can impair memory, concentration and performance, and produce symptoms often compared to jet lag.

A highly-respected expert on "chronobiology" (the study of circadian rhythms), Prof. Till Roenneberg's studies show that our internal body clocks never adjust to gaining an "extra" hour of sunlight at the end of the day during daylight saving time. "The consequence of that is that the majority of the population has drastically decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, increasing susceptibility to illness, and is just plain tired," Roenneberg said.
Roenneberg goes on to say that light doesn't have the same affect on the body in the morning as it does in the evening. "More light in the morning would advance the body clock, and that would be good. But more light in the evening would even further delay the body clock," he said.

This stuff is starting to make sense, but what do we do about it?

(Damn...My eyelids feel like lead right now.)

Several experts offer suggestions for dealing with the effects of the time change:
1. Get your exercise or workout done early in the day
2. Avoid coffee in the afternoon; drink decaf green tea instead
3. Resist the urge to spend that extra hour of daylight outdoors; get
inside and prepare for night time
4. Drink a cup of chamomile or other calming herbal tea before bed
5. Avoid alcohol (it may help you fall asleep, but it's actually a stimulant that will keep you from sleeping well)
6. Turn off the TV, cell phone and computer an hour before bedtime (the light from the screen can disrupt your body's ability to relax)
7. Make your bed as comfortable and cozy as possible and keep your bedroom cool and dark
8. Darken your windows (with shades or room-darkening drapes) to keep early morning light out of your sleeping area
9. Practice deep breathing after tucking yourself in
10. Once you wake up, throw open the drapes or sit near a bright window during breakfast to reset your inner clock

Geez...I can't stop yawning! (Not pretty. Trust me on this one. See above.) I'll give these tips a try and see whether they lessen my sluggishness. Are you with me? What've we got to lose?

Guess I better throw out that cuppa coffee, get my butt outta this chair and take a damn walk around campus.

QUESTION: How has turning the clocks forward affected you? What helped you get through the first few days?

Additional source: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm

All images courtesy of Google Images, unless otherwise noted.
(c)2012 Robyn M. Posson

From the Counselor's Desk

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Wellness Wisdom: Good news from the tobacco industry...

Wellness wisdom: Put the oxygen mask on yourself first.

A Love-Hate Relationship: Daylight Savings Time

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