Saturday, January 14, 2006

Seasonal Affective Disorder

The Sun Rose this morning at 08:04 local time. Last night (yesterday afternoon) the sun went down at 16:15. It is no wonder people get SAD. I keep marveling at the length of the night here (and the day in the summer) but then I remind myself that despite the tropical plants growing outside, this is a city located fairly far to the north of the equator.

At over fifty degrees latitude, London is almost as far north as Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) and further north than almost every other city I have ever visited in Canada. (I could not find Barrie, Ontario on the atlas I was using so I think that one is close.)

There was a piece on BBC 4's news the other night giving the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder and, not to sound like too much the Hypochondriac, I think I may be suffering a touch of it.

One of the symptoms is lethargy. The inability to wake-up during the day. I have this symptom often - well I guess mostly on Saturday and Sunday. I know I go to the pub on Friday and Saturday but I do not think that that has anything to do with it.

Then there is a disrupted sleeping pattern, I am pretty sure that I would rather chalk the fact that I am not sleeping like I do at home to SAD rather than missing Saga or going too often to pubs.

I think if you put it in the right light (pun intended) I can explain all my maladies as Seasonal Affective Disorder! Cool!

I hope your day is bright and sunny and you are not SAD!

Don Bergquist - 14-January-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom

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