One thing that we did not expect to happen while living in Chattanooga was a noticeable difference in the timing of the sunrise.
We did not notice anything at first, being that we moved here at the end of the summer when the days are still long, but as we made our way through October, and into the beginning of November, we were wondering why it was so dark out when we got up in the morning.
A few times Derek wondered why I was getting out of bed, because he thought it was still the middle of the night!
By Halloween, and for a few days until the clocks fell back in early November, the sun was not rising until 8:03 a.m.! We have never lived anywhere where the sun rose that late. I didn’t understand why, until we realized it was because we were on the edge of the eastern time zone. About a half hour away to the west in Tennessee, and about a half hour to the south of us in Alabama is the central time zone.
After the clocks fell back the sun was rising at 7 a.m., which was good for about a month or so, but now that we’re just past the winter solstice the mornings are quite dark again. We can also expect this to happen in March, when the clocks spring forward.
I am naturally a morning person, and do not sleep in much on the weekends. I can usually get up out of bed easily, but I now realize how dependent I was on natural light. I have struggled multiple times, and have found myself turning the alarm off and falling back asleep until it was a little lighter out.
We decided to buy ourselves a sunrise simulator, and last night was the first night we used it. It did the trick.
We set the simulator to start lighting up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off, so for us that is 6:45. I woke up naturally when the light turned on, but stayed in bed and dozed lightly until 7:15, when it was at full strength. I felt awake and was able to get out of bed.
I am glad that we found this gadget. I know that it will be beneficial. Even if we move away from Chattanooga in the years to come, it will still be nice to use during the winter months elsewhere.