Circadian rhythms, or my clock is broken

 

Cold salmon supper

What to have on Saturday night when you’re home alone for dinner: cold canned salmon with seasoned crème fraiche (lemon and horseradish), cherry tomatoes, and baby cucumbers. I would have added an avocado but I let it sit too long and it went bad. You could add a hard boiled egg to it, or maybe some green beans. I just used what I had. This was my mom’s favorite summertime supper, though now I’m trying to remember if she served it to Dad or saved it for nights when he wasn’t home. Daddy was an Anglophile, strictly a beef (or lamb) and potatoes man. Fish not so much.

I must admit I had a chance to go to Joe T.’s for dinner tonight. Jordan and Christian were going with two couples I’m fond of (both boys she went to school with from middle school on—it tickles me that their social life is still so filled with Jordan’s high school friends). At any rate, I debated: if I have an opportunity to go out and don’t take it, I feel guilty for not putting forth the effort, for daily becoming more reclusive in my cottage. On the other hand, I’ve just been to Joe T.’s and while a bean chalupa and sitting on the patio sounded good, I didn’t want to have to wash my hair, dress in real clothes, get there and wish I was at home. And I had lots to do on my desk.

Besides, my Circadian rhythms are out of whack. Just in case you don’t know, those are the rhythms that regulate daily life. Think of them as your internal clock, although this twenty-four hour cycle is something we share with plants and animals. For humans, we think of this clock in terms of sleep. The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night, and some authorities says it is most important to get sleep between ten at night and two in the morning.

The most common circadian rhythm disorder is delayed sleep/wake. If you go to bed later than you are used to, you may find it hard to wake up in the morning. In a reverse pattern, you may fall asleep early, like six p.m., and wake at two in the morning. Your sleep patterns are mostly governed by light and dark but also by melatonin in your system and by social behavior and physical activity. Circadian rhythm disorders may be caused by changes in your shift at work, brain injury, even jet lag.

What I’ve noticed in myself lately is a tendency to work late into the night—often getting to bed just before midnight—and sleep later in the morning. That’s a complete reversal for me, because I was always up early and usually asleep by ten. Even as a teen, when all my friends were sleeping till noon, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at eight in the morning. Now, I thought the change was due to aging, but as I read about circadian rhythms, it may be due to a lack of physical activity. Dependent on a walker, I don’t get much exercise, and exercise is one of the clues by which your internal clock cues your body.

I think there’s another factor though—and it’s my dog. Last night, Sophie had to go out at three and again at four (she too is aging). I usually don’t have any trouble going back to sleep after these interruptions or if I wake myself to go to the bathroom. But they do interrupt my sleep pattern. And this morning I had to get up at six-thirty and feed Sophie, so she could have her insulin shot at seven when the dogsitter came. (Explanation: we have decided for various reasons that I will not give her a shot—the reasons range from the tremor in my left hand to letting her associate me with a needle; as it is, she is shunning me right now because I put drops in her ears, and you know how painful that is—NOT). So I was up from 6:30 until about 7:15, but with the distinct feeling that I hadn’t gotten my sleep out. So I went back to sleep until about 8:45. But all day I still felt that lack of sleep (did the overcast day have anything to do with it?). By noon, I was nearly asleep at my desk, but when I went to nap at two, I wasn’t sleepy. Go figure!

This is a daily problem for me, because Sophie usually wakes me at seven for her breakfast and to go outside, and I almost always feel that I haven’t gotten my sleep out. I usually go back to bed for what some call second sleep, and I find myself really anticipating that bit of deep sleep.

The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology. I’m convinced, however, that those who study these rhythms and disorders have not met Sophie nor taken her determination into account.

I bet fireworks can also cause disruption. Don’t forget to keep your pets—and any sensitive friends or family—safe during the holiday weekend. Happy Fourth!