Editorial: 'Tis the season to be sleepy

They say that as you get older you need less sleep.

Well, that's what I've read anyway, but I've never been one to follow trends.

If, like me, you have the odd early start for your job, the fact older people get less sleep is highlighted by the voices on early-morning talkback radio.

Many are elderly people, up and at 'em and keen for a chat; or perhaps just unable to sleep.

That certainly isn't me. Right now I'm finding I need more sleep than ever.

It's becoming downright annoying. What's going on? I've always been a "morning person", up before the crack of dawn, venturing out into the dawning world for a trot or two around the block before bouncing in for breakfast. I'm the one who used to have to wake everyone else up.

These shortening days make you feel like the world is closing in. It seems to take forever for the sun to rise and she's hurried off well before I get home at night.

A frosty morning isn't so bad. Sure, it's chilly, but it's crisp and clear and promises a lovely sunny winter's day. It's the early darkness I'm not enjoying. It feels like a few hours of sunlight have been stolen away.

Maybe I'm not getting enough vitamin D from the sun in the afternoons and then can't drag myself out of bed early enough to enjoy a healthy dose of early morning sunshine before heading to work. Having said all that, I did read recently that some new study has found we need up to 10 hours sleep a night to be healthy. Perhaps I'm extra healthy right now. Yeah right.

Winter sluggishness, that's what it will be. Perhaps I am a summer person.

It seems a bit early for the winter blues and I'm not exactly feeling blue, just a little lethargic.

Thankfully, I have something to look forward to which I think may awake me from my comatose state and kick-start me to once again being the morning person I've always been. I just have to stick it out for another couple of weeks.

The shortest day of the year is approaching, June 22, someone told me the other day. After that, she said, the days will get longer again and the sun will re-energise us. It sounded great.

I shall look forward to it. There's another bonus to the shortest day - the longest night is right before it; my last long sleep before I awake from hibernation and rally for a re-energised build-up to spring. APN News & Media