Circadian Rhythm

One reason I decided to start a sunrise blog was better to pay attention to the state of my day. I wanted to be sure to rise with the sun as a way of adjusting my day to "this time and place."

You see, I have lived my entire life in New England. Riverside, RI, where I lived from age 4 to 18, is at 71 degrees 21 minutes West of the prime meridian; Boston, MA, where I lived from age 23 to 51, is at 71 degrees 1 minute West; Flint, MI, where I live now, is 43 degrees 2 minutes West. This means that while the sun, today, rises at 6:46 a.m. (EDT) in Flint, it rose over Boston at 5:56 a.m. In my old habit, getting out of bed at 7:00 this morning would have meant rising an hour after the sun had risen. In Flint, the same 7:00 "out of bed" would be only fifteen minutes after the sun had risen.

In the summer, this is not the greatest challenge. But when winter comes around, it can be very dificult to get up. On December 21, for example, in Boston the sun will rise at 7:09 a.m. (EST), and in Flint it will not come up until 8:02 a.m. (EST)

This is because Flint is on the western edge of the Eastern time zone. (Boston is on the eastern edge of the same zone.) I'm not sure where the center of the Eastern zone is (maybe I'll look that up another time), but all times to the east and west of center are shifted up to half hour off of "natural" time. "High noon" by the sun will happen at 12:00 noon at center; but high noon at the eastern edge (in a perfect 15 degree wide time zone) occurs at 11:30 a.m. on the clock, and in the west at 12:30 p.m.--which edge will also be the beginning of the next time zone. So straddling the time zone when the sun is directly overhead, it will be 12:30 p.m. on the eastern side of the line just as it is 11:30 a.m. on the western side.

Flint lying north of Boston (43 degrees 2 minutes vs. 42 degrees 22 minutes) changes the lengths of days only slightly. On December 21, a Boston day lasts 9 hours and 5 minutes; Flint's is just 9 hours. On June 21, Flint's day lasts 15 hours and 22 minutes, while Boston's is nine minutes shorter. So there are a few extra minutes of daylight in Flint due to its more northerly location.

But only a few. The greatest reason for our long summer afternoons (and short and late mornings) is the combination of Daylight Savings time and our westerly location in the time zone--and this continues to be a real challenge to me.

A few weeks ago, I got to spend a week on the coast of Maine at Ferry Beach Camp and Conference Center as Minister of the Week at "Family and Friends," an annual conference over thirty-five years in the running. Each morning, as the sun rose early (or, as I'm prone to say, "normally"), I could luxuriate in her warmth, take my time in getting out of bed, actually have a drink of water, wash my face and read a little before going to the dining room and enjoying breakfast at 7:45 or so before morning choir practice at 8:45 and chapel at 9:00. This felt so relaxed, so "civilized."

In Michigan, such activities, if dictated by the sun, would all need to be changed by 45 minutes or so: breakfast at 8:30, choir at 9:30, chapel at 9:45 . . . and then the day's activities would begin at 10:30 or so. Which, somehow, just feels "wrong."

Of course it wouldn't be and isn't wrong, and my difficulties in adjusting to the rhythms of the day here are not signs of my weakness, nor Michigan's incorrect time zone assignment. It is just something that I need to better integrate into my life and its patterns.

And so, each morning, for a season, I'm trying to rise and meditate, to write and post to this blog, to feel what it feels like and to pay attention to how I'm doing.

Raining outside, still. Cold and wet. Gray outside, even as bright yellow and pink and red tomatoes peek out of green and greyish foliage. A little chill on the floor; perhaps it is time to bring out my slippers. A big yawn, just now, and grumbling of stomach. Time for breakfast.

Good morning!