<p>I hate Fall back. For the past two years I was never able to adjust to the time change and spent the winter months miserable. I naturally wake up between 5 and 5:30am and I am fine with that…I’m a morning person. I also have two dogs who have grown used to eating and being let out about that time. But tomorrow the time I naturally awaken will be 4-4:30am and I need to push it back so that I can make it through the day. I can’t go through this again.</p>
<p>At first I thought it was just depression over Hurricane Sandy and I really thought that was understandable given what we were going through. I put on 12 pounds. My sleep cycle was all messed up and I was exhausted all day and lacked motivation and energy to do anything. Coffee didn’t help because it added to the anxiety. I couldn’t really walk anymore because many of my neighbors weren’t back yet and there was construction debris everywhere and nobody home to shovel the sidewalks. When Spring forward came, so did better weather and many of my neighbors had returned. I started walking again and exercising and come Summer we put our own construction on hiatus so we could just relax and spend time at the beach. </p>
<p>Then last Fall back it started again. Yes, we had started up construction again and that just threw chaos back into our lives and my youngest was a HS Senior so we had all that to deal with. But once again, I never adjusted to the time change and put the same damn 12 pounds on and was miserable until Spring! </p>
<p>So now here I am again. I am a new empty nester and I don’t work so I literally could hibernate this winter and not leave the house for anything. But I have taken some proactive steps to avoid this. I joined a gym so that I could continue exercising. Yoga once a week, pool aerobics twice a week and I’m going to try Zumba next week and see how I like that. As much as I love walking outside in all seasons, the icy sidewalks will stop me…I slipped and fell once in my twenties and being in my forties I do NOT want to deal that again. And I lost my treadmill when the house flooded but I can use either a treadmill or elliptical at the gym. I am also considering purchasing a personal training package so that I will have appointments to keep. </p>
<p>Because I am exercising so much a second cup of coffee in the afternoon doesn’t seem to interfere with my sleep or cause anxiety. I’m usually up until 9-10pm if I’m not doing anything but I don’t have any problems staying up later if I have plans. And this is good because my husband is a night owl. But with the time change tomorrow it will start getting dark so early. And for the sake of our relationship I would like to stay up past 7 this winter. And NOT put on 12 pounds again!!! If the sleep issues start causing anxiety I will have to cut out the coffee again though which will make it that much harder to stay up.</p>
<p>I have done some research on SAD and wondered about trying light therapy as well. Does anyone have any experience with this? Recommendations for what kind of light to purchase? Other things you’ve tried that helped with these issues? Am I on the right track this year? Your comments will be appreciated! I have a busy day today so I might not get back on to comment in this thread until tomorrow…4am is likely, lol! </p>
<p>I thought I just read about myself ! We live in the area impacted by Sandy too, though further inland. Our business was flooded, but all good at the home front . I dread the change of the clocks , but not quite as much as you do…my dogs will be confused too. No one ever seems to say that winter goes by too fast .</p>
<p>Several years ago I purchased a light box because I was suffering from SAD after working in a windowless room for 20 years. I used it about 20-30 minutes a day while I was reading the paper. It made a huge difference.</p>
<p>Two years after I purchased it, I was moved to a room with a wall of windows, so I didn’t need it anymore, but I still keep it in case my situation changes.</p>
<p>I am dreading the time change, too. The darkness and the winter cold affect me. I think staying active is very important and the yoga & other classes you are taking will help - if for no other reason but it gets you out of the house and around other people. </p>
<p>Are there alternative places to go to get in a good walk? In my town they have a walking club at the middle school in the afternoon’s (they walk they halls) and also a lot of malls you can go walk in the morning before the stores open. I used to walk 3 miles@15 minutes a mile at a mall with a friend and then we would go out to breakfast. </p>
<p>I also have to deal with early rising doggies -so I will be getting up at 4am, too. </p>
<p>The other thing I do is go to Florida a few times (parents are there.) It helps make the winter not seem so long and dreadful. </p>
<p>I have chronic depression, spring is the worst, but the winters are horrible too.</p>
<p>Sleeping helps, by which I mean a good nights sleep. As we age we don’t produce as much melatonin, so supplements can help.( but only take when needed, not every night)
Our dog sleeps with us, but the sounder I sleep, the less he gets up. I’m always the one who gets up in the middle of the night, because H gets up at 4am for work.
( he doesn’t start work till 6am, but he likes to ease into it. Me, I’d rather sleep!)</p>
<p>I have almost the same problem except I’m the night owl and my husband goes to sleep earlier. I get regular massage when I’m blue. I usually book my vacation in Hawaii around this time but not this year.
One thing that I like is to look over seeds catalog and plan what I’m going to plant next year. It brings me full of exciting ideas. It also the time that I’m plan what bulbs to order, what bare root rose and fruit trees to get next year. Something to take my mind of the dreary winter and I live in California.</p>
<p>Light therapy is helpful. You may have SAD and maybe you should see someone to talk about that. A diagnosis would at least let you get a prescription device.</p>
<p>But the problem you talk about is pretty common: it feels unnatural to have the day “end” at 3PM with it dark before 5. I grew up at the other edge of the Eastern time zone, where falling back makes the day seem to fit actual daylight better. When this one guy set up time zones back in the 1800’s, he should have made 1 more. Many of my conversations for the rest of the year will be: why the bleep is it so bleeping dark here?</p>
<p>Suggestion: I saw you do yoga once a week. Try twice and make one active and one restorative. I find the restorative session mentally relaxing and it functions for me much like a sabbath service - in Judaism, havdallah - where you take a moment to reset yourself. </p>
<p>My D has a light box that she used at her northern VA college (they even had them in library) and it does help. She is also having to get up super early now for her internship and we bought a light timer that gradually turns on a light to simulate dawn. Got it on amazon and can be used with any lamp with regular bulb. She says it helps a lot not to wake up in dark room. She also uses light box. They do sell SAD lights that come on gradually and have built in alarms/radios etc but that’s a lot of moving parts and more expensive. </p>
<p>I dread the time change. Even when we gain an hour it stills takes me at least a week to adjust and I hate it being dark so early in the evening…at least until they put up Christmas lights on the streets in a few weeks.</p>
<p>During those dark days of winter I make sure I have something on the calendar every week day. Something I look forward to. Sometimes its just a yoga class but more often in the winter I will schedule lunch or breakfast with a friend. I tend to get a little blue once the holidays are over and January rolls around. </p>
<p>I try to exercise outside and go outside at lunch time.I’m going to try snowshoeing this winter (not a very good skier). I try to schedule something fun like crafts/decorating on the weekend, other than that I wish I was in Hawaii for Jan and Feb.</p>
<p>Funny, I am reading this as I JUST walked around the house changing clocks. :)</p>
<p>OP, congrats on your increased physical activity and your efforts for adjusting to the “empty nest” (HATE that term!) All positive steps for you.</p>
<p>Any chance your H would be interested in a 30 minute game night in the evening? Play a few hands of cards, a game of scrabble or Jenga or do a puzzle together? Would help stretch the evening out. Is there a local library nearby? One or two nights a week make the effort to get in the car and go enjoy the library - pick out movies for the weekend, read some magazines, look at their calendar and attend a class or presentation. </p>
<p>My strategy after tonight is to count down to December 21 and the days getting longer after that!!! Every minute counts!!! Easier to look ahead to December instead of far out March.</p>
<p>If you live far enough north to have been impacted by Sandy, you are almost certainly vitamin D deficient and that becomes acute with the short days of winter.</p>
<p>I would also recommend finding some kind of winter activity that gets you outside in the winter. I try to hike or snow shoe once every 7 to 10 days during the winter. Really helps in the fight against cabin fever.</p>
<p>You are not alone–I was just thinking about this same issue today. The cold, dark part of the year. I always count down to the winter solstice, too, and just feel relieved when it starts getting lighter again. I love the fall, but after Halloween, I’m ready for spring. I read that before clocks and electric lights, it was natural for people to sleep quite a bit longer per night when it was dark/cold in the winter. And put on weight, too. Almost like a modified “hibernation.” I think we are pushing ourselves against our nature to keep the same fast-paced schedule year round. OP, I think your strategies are good. Vitamin D is a good idea, too. I just started drinking coffee last year, and I think it helps. I walk my kids to/from school, and that forces me to exercise twice a day. I have some part-time work, so I must keep up with that–get out of the house, pretend to be civilized . Every winter, though, all I can think of is moving south!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your helpful responses which I read before I went to sleep last night!</p>
<p>So this morning actually went quite well! I took a “natural” sleep aid last night that kept me asleep until the dogs woke me up at 5am…which for them felt like they were eating late! The pups are 12 and 7 so they’ve been through time changes before and it always took a few days to get used to it for both them and me. It’s just the last two years that adjusting never happened but really that is a relatively new problem.</p>
<p>I happen to have a doctor appointment on 11/24 for my annual physical and I think I’m going to discuss this in full with her instead of self diagnosing. I may have SAD. But I was reading up on other circadian rhythm issues and that sounds about right, too. There are a lot of choices for these light boxes and it’s probably important to use it correctly as well. I guess because they are so readily available now on Amazon, Brookstone, etc. that I thought I would just buy one and treat myself. I am still interested in this but can probably wait a few weeks to talk to the doc first or try to move my appt up.</p>
<p>I had forgotten about the Vitamin D deficiencies so thanks also for that input. I am currently taking a daily Calcium/Vitamin D supplement and I wasn’t last year but I can now swallow them thanks to that thread about swallowing pills a while back! But I know that supplements are no substitute for being outside. I’m going to have to think about how I can get some outside time in without worrying about the ice! </p>
<p>Also appreciate the helpful comments about planning activities…mall walking, board games, vacationing, hiking, seed catalogs, active/restorative yoga, etc. And truthfully, I had never paid attention to the days getting longer after winter solstice. I guess I was always so busy with the holidays that I never noticed but I will be sure to pay attention this year!</p>
<p>I really can’t thank you enough for your responses…I feel hope and such relief that I’m off to a good start and will be able to manage this year! Thanks for the support! Now I’m off to go change the rest of the clocks! :)</p>
<p>We should try to keep this thread alive to help us all through the winter blahs. </p>
<p>I just remembered that at the end of standard time I will finally be finished paying tuition for ever. Fingers crossed that thought will get me through the worst of the darkness. </p>
<p>I am also stealing the jigsaw puzzle idea. I told H I want to go to store this week and buy one we can work on together after dinner each night. </p>
<p>The amount of vitamin D in the calcium supplements or in daily multivitamins may be far short of what you need to get your levels up. Of course, everyone is different, but I have to take 4000 IU daily just to get to the minimum recommended levels. I take 6000 IU a day. </p>
<p>It is is pretty much impossible to make Vitamin D from sun exposure in the northern US in the winter months. The sun is too low in the sky and we are covered up by clothes. Most of us in the northern latitudes are massively deficient.</p>
<p>I am also bracing myself for the winter. I plan to plant myself in front of the fireplace with my iPad and books and will attempt to teach myself how to knit. The dreary winter seems a little less depressing when my activities are centered around a roaring fire. </p>
. Every winter, though, all I can think of is moving south!</p>
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