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May 14, 2012, 08:36 PM
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Member Since: Aug 2009
Location: Fringes of the bell-shaped curve
Posts: 779
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Hi, Didgee Eeyou! I have wondered about some sort of reverse seasonal affective disorder myself - I've always felt best during the cold, gray, fall and winter months, and have more depressive episodes when it's sunny and hot - probably ties somewhat into my allergies and other immune-system malfunctions, as well.
I've had an escalating problem with photosensitivity for decades, but especially since the last time I got sun-poisoning in the early-1990s at the Grand Prix in Detroit. My dermatologist in Michigan officially diagnosed me allergic to sunlight (UV-A & B) in 1997, along with synthetic fabrics and dyes - but the photosensitivity has continued to escalate to include all light since my last Stevens-Johnson Syndrome reaction to medication in 1999. So, who knows how much this severe photosensitivity contributes to the existing sleep disorder? Plus, my hormones have never been right. I went through menopause early (mid-40s), but am allergic to the replacement hormones - even the phytoestrogens, so no hormones for me!  Again, who knows how and how much this contributes to all the nonsense?
I've always felt like my natural day is longer than 24 hours, too, and have always had to work very hard (and not very successfully) to force myself into some modicum of a "normal" sleep cycle in order to work. I would say my natural clock is set to a 28 to 30-hour day. Perhaps because I've been fighting this for so long, I can only manage to force myself into a shorter cycle for a limited period of time before my body just rebels and reasserts its natural cycle despite my efforts - and perhaps it's easier for me to force it during the shorter days of the colder months than during the longer and warmer days of spring and summer - thus, the "flip" to becoming nocturnal in the spring.
Who knows? At this late stage of the game, I guess it really doesn't matter - especially since I no longer have to adhere to a rigid work schedule. So, I'll just try to relax and go with the flow - sleep when I can, and try to be productive when I can't - and try not to lose any sleep over it all - AH-HAHAHA!  Thanks for your input, Didgee Eeyou. Wishing you sweet dreams!  lynn09
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"I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way, But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow and ne'er a word said she; But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!"
(Robert Browning Hamilton; "Along The Road")
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