Sleepy Sleeperson

Early to bed

Early to rise

Keeps me, from punching you,

Right between the eyes.

Just kidding.
Sorta.

With a long history of working in restaurants, bars and nightclubs I developed, not surprisingly, the habits of a night owl. In hindsight, (that's always 20/20 ya know) I think living that night life may have kept some of my SAD symptoms at bay. By living and working a fast paced life in the dinner and club hours, my machine may not have known the days were dreary and dark, and when the long nights were at their peak, I was smack dab in the middle of the busy season, holiday parties, huge reservations and the ever popular, New Years Eve.
 I was also probably (ahem) unknowingly self-medicating with alcohol under the guise of the holiday spirit.
Alas
Those night owl days are no longer.
And those hours, without the lifestyle, do not do anyone with SAD any favours. In other words, being a nightowl with a couple to three drinks every night does not a grown up make.

It was by luck that I discovered the early to bed rule.
A work/life obstacle  necessitated me to rise at 5 - 5:30 for a couple weeks to get all chores crossed off the list...well low and behold if I didn't actually feel better, less tired (same amount of sleep) better mood (like NOT wanting to put a bullet in my head) and fewer carb cravings, and the only thing different in my routine/regimen/religion was my sleep time. Bed by 9 - 9:30 and up EARLY (4 -4:30 was common)

So

I stuck with it. Until April-ish and then resumed my usual nighthawkish ways.

The next year (2010) I implemented the early bed - early rise schedule at the end of October. And wouldn't you know the doom n gloom demon stayed away. Sing it with me - - "Awe-some"
(until my whole routine fell apart in late January, then, so did I...but that was last year. Never backwards, always forwards)

This winter the rule is in effect, and I do notice if I sway too much away from it then I start feeling lousy (read: I hate my life) and quickly get back on track.
I've been trying to find some scientific research that helps explain/reason this Tool in my SAD Sack - but nothing has surfaced as of yet.  Instinct says I'm playing a trick on my brain by bookending the short days with night - but there are flaws in the theory -
If I come across some hard proof, I'll be sure to share the link, but for now...perhaps just give it a try for a couple weeks and let me know what you think.

Hip Hip Hooray, it's the Shortest Day

There's not many things that I can get excited about during this time of year.
I always feel so lousy for Christmas and New Years that spending the holidays on my couch, watching surfer movies and surrendering to the un-social side of SAD would be my preference. However, friends and family tend to not entertain this (my) holiday 'tude, and insist I make appearances regardless of my mood.  Making me sometimes wonder if they're all slightly masochistic.

Regardless.
I do get excited about today.
Today is MY Christmas
Today is MY New Year's Eve
Today

is the shortest day of the year.

Meaning -
Tomorrow the days start getting longer.
*exhale*
Awesome.(zero sarcasm)
Today I will walk around with a Mona Lisa smile and know that I made it this far and therefore I can make it the rest of the way out of this winter.

The Cardio Code

Lazy, lethargic, miserable, apathetic, unsocial, passionless and just plain old blechity-bleck-blah.
No desire to work, play or otherwise.
It's an awesome existence, and for those of you who missed it, that  - was complete sarcasm.

If someone told me I could pick one, and just one, of the tools in my SAD sack, Cardio would be it.
Vitamin D is a god-send and it's hard to imagine winter without it, BUT, a winter without any form of cardio would literally be hell-froze over.

Remember all those 'lovely attributes' of Seasonal Affective Disorder, well, I've found that one of the best prescriptions against said attributes, is cardio. And not a leisurely stroll on a treadmill, I'm talkin bout 40-60 minutes of working it and SWEATING - - Every Day.  Yup, every single day.

Now I understand that this could pertain to just me, but I have a feeling it will ring true with more than one of my fellow sufferers. If routine and patterns are my winter friend, then taking a break for a day or two from the cardio, just starts a crap shoot as to what the next day will unfold. So, I chose not to gamble with my sanity and simply find the time (heck who wants to go outside anyways) to work out for at least an hour.  One of the biggest benefits to this chore is the endorphin rush. (insert angels singing) - it kicks the miserable 'tude, the dark and gloomy thoughts, and malaise to the curb and literally lets life shine through.

I know an hour may seem like much to some, but I tried 20 minutes everyday and it didn't work. I upped it to 30, ya, good, but...that pesky 'darkness' peeked through.  40 minutes seemed to be the magic number, 40 and sweat. Sweat meant my heart rate was up and the endorphin was pumping.
(If I remember correctly, one begins to experience an 'endorphin rush' on average, after 20 minutes of moderate (sweating) exercise)  The way I see it, the 20minutes AFTER my endorphins start, are the magic minutes, so sometimes I get 'greedy' (not the right word) and go for another 10 or 15, but heck it's not hurting anyone.

It keeps the demons at bay. 

It combats the fatigue, the pms, the weight gain, the cravings, the depression and for me the dark thoughts. It helps with my productivity, my concentration and my overall health. It IS a Cardio Code. 

The hardest part is starting the everyday routine, especially with everything that works against a SADist (err SADite), I try and start in September, work myself up to it, if you know what I mean. If it 3 weeks to form a habit, then with luck I'm ready when the short days and cold weather hits. 

(For the record - the key word is TRY. It's usually late when I start and my friends and family have to 'remind' me to get crackin)