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Waking hours

Sunrise shortly before six.
Sunset shortly after six.
Every day.

Advantages:
Your circadian rhythm can really get some perpetual motion happening--if you coordinate waking hours with sunlit hours you’ll get lots of sleep. I marvel at regular class hours at high school starting at 7:30; most university students I know thought the “early” 8:30 class started at an ungodly hour.

Disadvantages:
Electricity interferes with these good intentions. We can extend our evenings long after the sun has gone done, thus we’re not quite so eager to be up with dawn’s early light. Simon, Scotts’ yardworker, thinks 5:30 is a marvellous time to get work done: sharpening his cutlass and cutting grass outside my window, or pounding the new clothesline posts into the ground. I am less than impressed.

But, in the end, no doubt he’s the one getting more sleep and enjoying the fresh air before it gets too hot. It’s an accomplishment for me that I’m up for breakfast at 7:00 every morning.
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