sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

August 18, 2005


zeitgebers
posted by soe 2:34 am

When Karen and I were teenagers, we were even more nightowlish than we are now (Rudi and Michael may find that hard to believe). I existed on hours of sleep that could be counted on one hand, while Karen snatched her hours of rest whenever she could find them.

At one point, however, she decided to resynchronize her internal clock and, after doing some research, worked to create new zeitgebers for herself.

What, you ask, are zeitgebers?

Naturally, zeitgebers (German for “time givers”) are the regular occurrences that set a daily rhythm to your day (such as sunlight or temperature). Artificially, they can be anything that regulates your internal clock — from meals to regular activities, such as going for a run or leaving for work or school. They’re the things that cause you to wake up five minutes before your alarm is due to go off every morning. And they generally instruct your body to expect certain things at certain times — creating your body’s version of a Pavlovian response.

My problem is that I currently lack zeitgebers. I eat dinner at random hours — midnight on Sunday, seven on Monday, ten last night, nine tonight. I go to work at different times. I eat lunch whenever I think of it. And it’s starting to create problems with going to sleep, as I’m typing this at half past two in the morning, the only soul awake in the Burrow…

So when I return from Connecticut next week, I will aspire to create some structure in my life to convince my body that 3 a.m. is not an adequate bedtime. I’m not looking to become too regulated (my personality doesn’t really suit that sort of existence or vice versa), but just regular enough that I can hit the hay closer to midnight than sunrise — at least most of the time.

So wish me luck. Or, better yet, drop me a line with your preferred zeitgebers. I’ll let you know whether any of them work for me.

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