Why I'm a party pooper

Having always been a very light sleeper, and having suffered the consequences of poor quality sleep in the past, with age I have become increasingly comfortable bowing out early, or declining late night social gatherings.

I justify my anti-social behaviour by not wanting to become a burden to an already overtaxed health care system. One late meal, or single glass of wine, could throw me into “social jet lag” for days. It’s too energizing at the wrong time for me.

Till Roenneberg PhD, a professor at the Institute of Medical Psychology at the University of Munich, coined the term “social jet lag”, meaning misalignment of biological and social time – a mismatch of the body’s internal clock and the realities of our daily schedule.

In Western societies many are chronically sleep deprived. Since Thomas Edison’s discovery of the light bulb in 1879, the average sleep duration decreased from 9 to 7.5 hours. Some people do need more sleep than others. But consistency, that is falling asleep and awakening at the same time every day, seems to be what is most critical. And, honouring light dark cycles also matters.

Dr. Roenneberg’s research shows that for every hour of “social jet lag”, as in sleeping in on weekends to compensate for late night partying, increases the risk of being overweight or obese by about 33%, and it affects about two thirds of the population. While we may get away with it in our youth, over time we suffer the consequences.

In a Swedish study, just one-hour time change in daylight savings time (DST), has been shown to significantly increase the rates of heart attack - interestingly more so for women in the spring with one hour loss, and more so for men in the fall with an hour gained. The effect of the transition was also more prevalent among those under 65.

Traffic, work injuries, depression, suicide and miscarriages appear to increase as well in the first few days of DST.

Personally, having grown up in an environment with minimal artificial light, my adaptation to man-made daytime may lag that of others, who grew up with increased exposure to artificial light. Especially at this time of year, when I tend to be naturally hyperactive throughout the day, I relish my early to bed nighttime routine. 

I tend to turn off electronics and overhead lights at 9:00 PM. I prepare for bed. I read. I write in my gratitude journal. And I’m asleep shortly after 10 PM. When I wake up in the morning (between 6 and 7 AM) I step outside and expose myself to natural daylight to reset my natural body clock. And I schedule my social for earlier in the day.

Rise and shine.

Originally published in the spring of 2017