CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS

And at last it’s March. Lighter mornings, lighter evenings.

Feeling hopeful, looking forward to seeing more sunshine. Making it that much easier to get out of bed in the morning.
Are you a lark or an owl?

Whether you start the day with all cylinders firing, or you prefer to be busy late into the night, these aren’t things we can choose. However we can subtly alter our patterns for the better.

Human beings began many thousands of years ago in Africa, near the equator. At the equator day and night, are always equal length: twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. Naturally we are set to run on a twenty-four hour cycle. However that cycle isn’t exactly twenty-four hours for most of us; our individual cycle might be nearer to twenty-three hours, or to twenty-five hours.

Those whose cycle is nearer to twenty-three hours are the larks, and to twenty-five, those are the owls. Owls will naturally want to go to bed later and later every night. When their partner wants to go to bed they might say “I’ve just got to do one more email”, or “I’ll just iron a shirt for tomorrow”; anything to simply extend the day a bit longer. But if their partner is a lark, she /he can hardly keep their eyes open at this point. Well, after all, they were up and busy before 6.30 a.m. This need not put a stress on the relationship, we can subtly alter our routines if we choose to.

I might help a client who has told me he needs help to get to work on time, by asking “If you were to get to work on time, what would you be doing the night before?” And the reply might be something like “I’d be going upstairs and getting ready at 11pm”. “And if you were getting to work on time, how might that affect your work?” “Well, for one, my boss would be happier. He might even consider me for that promotion that I had hoped to get”.

Solution Focused talk helps us to imagine better outcomes, like getting the promotion; and also the steps we might take which will enable that to happen i.e. going to bed earlier.

It’s not rocket science, just building the future we want to see, one step at a time.