The Track of Time

There is a reason that photoperiod is so integrated into the very DNA of organisms. It is constant throughout the seasons. Temperature is a poor predictor for Fall; rainfall will often fail to predict the coming Spring. But, the number of hours of light and dark in a day are reliable for every part of the world and for every year of our lives.

Not surprisingly, elements critical to a individual's and species's survival are tied to light/dark. Reproduction, blooming, molting, migration - all geared towards the photoperiod. Why does our appetite go into overdrive and we crave certain foods in Autumn? Because the shortening photoperiod signals our body to start laying down layers of fat to survive the oncoming season of lack. Why do we seem to lose our appetites in Summer and crave things that are light? So we lose that weight to enable us to more successfully get rid of excess body heat and regain lean muscle to lead a more active life.

Well, it doesn't take a brainiac to figure out that when the photoperiod is impacted by the weather, things don't go right. Today is that kind of day for me. It has looked absolutely the same from dawn until dusk - grey, grey, grey. There have been none of the long-days cues coming into my brain. First, this completely makes my SAD go wild. The amount of serotonin that is making its way to my perkiness ganglia is virtually nil. Further, my body has decided, based on the photoperiod cues, that we are again approaching winter. So, its been eat, eat, eat, eat...True hunger. Not thirst, not fatigue - none of the hunger posers. My stomach has been growling and insatiable since I rose this morning. Anything and everything in my path has found its way into my mouth. The whisk broom was a mistake, but I'm counting it as fiber.

Evolution does not always make our lives easy. In a way, it diminishes our free will. But, it does this for reasons, reasons that have kept our species going for all these millenia. Experience knows best, I guess, but what a ride it can give you! And, for many, the cause is not evident. They think that something is "wrong" when they get the winter blues or pack on those extra cold-weather pounds. Nope, everything is actually "right." We just don't like it. We live a life different from that of our ancestors, but that lifestyle is not a part of our genetic code. In another thousand or so generations, perhaps. But, for now, we are still tied to the primal signals of time. Our eyes and our brains track the time with remarkable accuracy, given the appropriate cues. Just like the flowers, the birds, the bears...we are a product of our past and will continue this way.

So, I have to take measures to stay on even keel. Suck down my Prozac, indulge in culinary serotonin boosters, fill my house with light, and remember that tomorrow is another day. Oh wait, the forecast is for more rain...drat, foiled again...