Last week, we wrote a blog over on the site for our sister supplement BergaOne about adjusting to the time change. If you follow our weekly newsletter, you already know about it. If you don’t follow our newsletter, you should sign up! It’s only once a week, and it collects all of our great blogs in one place!
Hopefully, by now, your used to the new time and enjoying the late afternoon sun. It’s always rough for a few days, despite our best effort. One person on our team kept accidentally getting dinner on the table at close to 9 pm! Just that one hour can really throw you off your game.
But, now that we have all settled into the new time, the afternoon sun really is lovely. It’s wonderful to have so much light in the evening. And it helps the electric bill! That’s actually the whole point of the clock change. The legend says it’s to help farmers. But, in actuality, it’s always been intended to help conserve energy as it has people turning on lights later in the day.
You are also more likely to be out and about more when it’s light outside. We often have things to do during the day. Whether you work or are retired, the hours of nine to five are often filled with tasks that can’t be put off. When your downtime rolls around, you’re far less motivated to go out if it’s dark. You don’t want to go out for a walk or exercise in the dark; your body clock tells you to just take it easy.
Now that it’s light out take the opportunity to get out more! Daylight is great for your sleep cycle and helps you set a better natural rhythm. It also helps your vitamin D levels. You won’t get as much vitamin D while all bundled up, but you’ll still get more outside than you would when you stay indoors.
The extra sunlight can also boost your mood in a time when most of the country is feeling dourer. “Being active in the later afternoon in the sunlight can help you avoid going to bed too early, and thus avoid waking up too early in the morning. The extra sunlight hours can be used for additional recreation, etc. that will of course help with your mood!” said Alicia Roth, a clinical health psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center.
This additional daylight can also help motivate you to get more done in your life, inside your home. One of our team members said that her apartment has become very untidy recently. Without guests, she hadn’t seen a point in picking up around her home. As it was dark after work, she would finish her day and then just spend the rest of the day reading, watching TV and talking on the phone. But, she said the sunlight this week inspired her to vacuum and go through junk mail that’s been piling up on the kitchen table. It wasn’t dark, so the day didn’t feel “over” to her.
Whatever you do, we hope you find ways to put your hour to good use and feel more fulfilled. The first day of spring is tomorrow, and we hope you “spring” into it!
