I apologize if I’m boring y’all with this recent string of entries. I’m doing some research, trying to organize some thoughts, and this seems like as good a place as any to sort things out.

First up tonite: Darkness therapy. (Yes, I’ve been obsessed with light therapy, this is the Dark Side of that Force. Heh.)

Here’s a nice article which covers some of what happens with darkness and light and the body.

Check this out:

Here’s another angle on light and dark: suppose that the appearance of light every morning can reset your clock only when you’ve had enough darkness. Maybe the brain needs to be able to see the contrast? What would happen if you didn’t get enough darkness? Maybe you’d lose your biological rhythm entirely; your body wouldn’t know when to make you sleep and when to wake you up. You’d be up in the middle of the night sometimes, for days in a row, backwards to real time. Then you might be so asleep during the real day you could hardly get out of bed; getting up in the morning would feel like getting up from sleep in the middle of the night does for the rest of us, ugh.

So, in a nutshell: your biological clock appears to need darkness just as much as it needs light. And some people are more sensitive to this need than others. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, look at cutting out blue light (blue blockers FTW!), turning off the TV and computer at least 2 hours before bedtime, and getting a cheap eye mask. Don’t turn on bright lights if you have to get up in the night to pee or eat or check email (oops, see above about not using the computer).

Hmmm.

The same guy, talking about exercise. Physical benefits? Of course. Mood benefits? YES!

Hey, a mood chart!

Just this one web site will give me plenty of reading material.