Bucking the circadian cycle

Daylight hours count in Denmark, which spends a vast majority of the year draped in darkness. Many have warned me about the dreaded winter period, which apparently commences in October when Copenhagen gets ‘ugly’. Everyone seems determined to convince me that I will find winter depressing. This remains to be seen. But then it’s not as though winter in London was all that and a bag of chips. And anyway, it’s been raining today. Yay, summer!

I do believe we are instinctive creatures of light. Depression rates amongst the Scandos relating to the dramatic fluctuations in daylight hours certainly seem to reflect this. Yet since I arrived, I’ve spent an extravagant number of days sleeping whilst recovering from a full night’s (and most of the following day’s) shenanigans. I blame my bad influences(!) and the extended hours of light in the Scandinavian summer.*

I also don’t care; I am paying for the luxury of time. It’s not a constant party I’m talking about. It’s just living freely to enjoy scenes such as those two guerrilla spectators sitting way up on a neighbouring rooftop, enjoying the gorgeous pink sunlit sky this morning. Don’t get me wrong, I love sunny times as much as the rest, but darkness can also bring a sense of solace, adventure or kinship of its own kind. I simply hope to make the best of time, be it by daylight or moonlight.

The absence of my hitherto work regime, in addition to the easiness of people unburdened by the pressure of the ‘last tube home’, allows for a good time to stretch well into the wee hours without blinking. Check your watch and it’s suddenly 6am and the sun has been up for some time and today has rolled into yesterday seamlessly. Time? Date? Meh. Right now, the moment matters most, and it’s been pretty good to me so far.

Thus, my body clock has fallen somewhat out of synch with the circadian die hards who 'need light'. If my life today does not rely on a conventional framework (or at least, to ‘make the most’ of time from morning until night), does that mean I’m ‘missing out’? Absolutely not. Bucking the circadian cycle once in a while can be – as I’m sure many of you could vouch for – liberating, even magical. If I’ve missed any of the ‘prime’ daylight, I’ve not felt wasteful. For me, this spontaneous way of life allows for a kind of intimacy amongst the initiated which, I could imagine, might prove to be the ideal vaccine to see me through the 'doom and gloom' winter found here, substituting the absence of light with light of another kind.

Sure, I’ve got the time to do this, but then I worked to create this window specifically so that I could make good on any chance to break the routine and test my mettle for the sake of new experiences. I've already seen a great payoff and I am relishing the freedom to actually do, instead of just thinking of doing. I definitely look forward to making after party pancakes for K and friend - the so-called 'the coolest m*****f***** in the world' - one morning soon!

Perhaps this is my shout out to the night owls? Or just those who don't fret about where they have to be every day of every month of every year? Say what you will about responsibilities and obligations, I simply feel this time has reinforced my instinct to spend less time worrying about wasting time, and more on wasting life. When's the last time you stayed up all night just for the hell of it? Buck the system and break the cycle. Go on, I dare you.

Random Girl

*I might add that the vast majority of this time is spent (due to RG's relatively weak constitution for the stuff) sober and not under any undue influence other than some Faxe Kondi and crazy amazing friends. Tak!! :)