P.L.E.A.S.E

Last night, we adjusted our clocks one hour forward to accommodate Daylight Savings Time.  As I moved the hands on the last clock, I paused and did a quick self-observation to see if any part of me now believed it was midnight instead of eleven o’clock.

It was no darker in the room.  I did not suddenly feel any more tired. And I’m pretty sure my suprachiasmatic nucleus—a group of brain cells the size of a grain of rice that influence my sleep/wake cycle—wasn’t buying it, either. So, no.

This morning, Fred and I woke up, according to the altered clocks, at 8:30. We usually start our day at 7:30 A.M. Without paying much attention to the actual time, we stopped for lunch around 2:00 in the afternoon instead of noon. Right now, as I’m blogging, it is 5:30 P.M., our customary dinner time. Neither of us is hungry. To sum it up, our circadian rhythms seem to be on yesterday’s time.

All this got me thinking about how my inner clock affects my behavior—such as when I fall asleep, when I become hungry, when I wake up. And, while I’ve known about my body’s need to maintain balance and rhythm for a long time, I’ve only recently begun consistently helping things along.

That’s because, DBT calls for me to care for myself physically as a way to help regulate my emotions. One of the skills uses the acronym P.L.E.A.S.E to emphasize the benefits of treating PhysicaL illness, balancing Eating, Avoiding mood-altering substances, balancing Sleep, and getting Exercise.

These days, I eschew coffee after breakfast—I don’t want to create “false energy” when my body is trying to tell me it’s tired. I consume far less sugar because I always feel grumpy twenty minutes after I eat it. I made a plan with my doctor to help manage chronic arthritis pain. And while sleep isn’t always easy to regulate, I do my best.

As I’m writing this, I noticed the sun is still brightly shining outside even though it’s well after 6:30 P.M. It seems Daylight Savings Time has given an extra hour of daylight to me so I can put “getting exercise” into practice. So I will take Fred’s hand and walk through the neighborhood before sundown. Eventually, my circadian rhythm will catch up. In the meantime, there’s a sunset to see.