November 24, 2008
Time Change
Why do we change our clocks twice a year? I thought it had something to do with the fact that we were initially a farming society. But now I remember that that is the reason why we have such a long summer vacation –so the school age children would be available to work in the fields.
Some people can reset their body clocks much more easily than others. With all the years of flying through time zones I have had my share of waking up famished at 3:00am (dinner time here in the US) after landing in a foreign country the day before.
I have found that if you “do nothing” it will take about 3 1/2 weeks for your body clock to reset itself. Some people experience fatigue and just don’t get the right kind of rest during that time. This can and does affect their performance, driving, and interactive abilities.
It just takes time to reset the body clock but there are a few things that you can do to help the process along. One of these is to keep hydrated; the corollary being avoid alcohol (as it dehydrates your body). The second is to consume some caffeine when you get up (yea Starbucks). And then you should take a brisk walk outside early in the morning. And then you get to eat some pasta for your dinner ( OK, maybe just a few sips of wine with it).
Two things that are also not good activities if you want a good nights sleep are ( you are not going to like this…) watching TV and using your computer. Evidently the screens are so bright that they keep our brain awake long after the device is turned off. So read a good book instead.
