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Daylight to Standard Time or vice versa
Hi All,
Because I'm retired, and always home, I can adjust food-and-insulin times at my convenience. I've always been sensitive to circadian rhythms, as they're called - that is, the BodyBrain combination adjusts to daylight, dark, and twilight, and this is known to be true for most species.
Of course, in human life, we often go by the clock instead of light, so we get the clock-changes at this time of year, at least in many places. And because my vet said, feed twice a day, 12 hours apart, and give insulin 30 minutes after feeding, in summer, I feed when it's light, and in winter, I feed when it's dark!
It took me several rounds before I finally settled on a very specific time of day and evening to feed and give insulin that I find suitable for my own particular BodyBrain sensitivities, and seem also to suit Kwali and Kumbi. At first, I was feeding at 8 a.m. and p.m., and giving insulin at 8:30, because that's how the vet had set things up for Kumbi to begin with - it suited their clinic hours, when Kumbi was hospitalized. (1 September, 2006).
Since then, I've tried feeding at 7:30 and giving insulin at 8, and then, later, feeding at 6:30 and giving insulin at 7. I wasn't sure how that would suit ME during the winter, but I found it worked fine; last winter was my first, using that timing. HOWEVER!
That meant, come spring, really liking that time, I needed to adjust times "to beat the clock" when we changed to Daylight time from Standard Time.
So, last spring, I set my Calendarscope program to change over a period of 12 days, by 5 minutes a day, thinking the gradual change would be easiest on the dogs.
I stuck to it. Maybe it was easiest on the dogs. But for me, it was the most INCREDIBLE ANNOYANCE, even with the help of the Calendarscope program!
So, I thought, this fall, maybe I can avoid some of the annoyance, yet still make the change gradual enough to suit Kwali and Kumbi. The dogs have become accustomed to my feeding within a minute or two of the appointed time, so their BodyBrains are adjusted to EXPECT to be fed then. And in turn, Kumbi probably uses his insulin best when his body EXPECTS it at 7.
Well, I'm in the middle of the switch, but this time, unable to face the five-minutes-a-day change, I'm changing this way:
Three days delaying by 15 minutes; then three days delaying by half an hour, then three days delaying by forty-five minutes, and finally, feeding a whole hour late (just before the actual time change on the clocks), so by the time I have to set clocks and watches, I won't have to fuss about feeding and giving insulin, nor do anything strange with my Calendarscope program.
And STILL, I'm finding this VERY ANNOYING! I wonder if next spring, I'll just change all at once. I think that would work okay in the spring - I'd be feeding a whole hour EARLY. In the fall, though, I think my dogs would have an awful time, waiting a whole HOUR for their breakfast, and worse, a whole HOUR for their supper!
How do you all deal with this?
Because I'm retired, and always home, I can adjust food-and-insulin times at my convenience. I've always been sensitive to circadian rhythms, as they're called - that is, the BodyBrain combination adjusts to daylight, dark, and twilight, and this is known to be true for most species.
Of course, in human life, we often go by the clock instead of light, so we get the clock-changes at this time of year, at least in many places. And because my vet said, feed twice a day, 12 hours apart, and give insulin 30 minutes after feeding, in summer, I feed when it's light, and in winter, I feed when it's dark!
It took me several rounds before I finally settled on a very specific time of day and evening to feed and give insulin that I find suitable for my own particular BodyBrain sensitivities, and seem also to suit Kwali and Kumbi. At first, I was feeding at 8 a.m. and p.m., and giving insulin at 8:30, because that's how the vet had set things up for Kumbi to begin with - it suited their clinic hours, when Kumbi was hospitalized. (1 September, 2006).
Since then, I've tried feeding at 7:30 and giving insulin at 8, and then, later, feeding at 6:30 and giving insulin at 7. I wasn't sure how that would suit ME during the winter, but I found it worked fine; last winter was my first, using that timing. HOWEVER!
That meant, come spring, really liking that time, I needed to adjust times "to beat the clock" when we changed to Daylight time from Standard Time.
So, last spring, I set my Calendarscope program to change over a period of 12 days, by 5 minutes a day, thinking the gradual change would be easiest on the dogs.
I stuck to it. Maybe it was easiest on the dogs. But for me, it was the most INCREDIBLE ANNOYANCE, even with the help of the Calendarscope program!
So, I thought, this fall, maybe I can avoid some of the annoyance, yet still make the change gradual enough to suit Kwali and Kumbi. The dogs have become accustomed to my feeding within a minute or two of the appointed time, so their BodyBrains are adjusted to EXPECT to be fed then. And in turn, Kumbi probably uses his insulin best when his body EXPECTS it at 7.
Well, I'm in the middle of the switch, but this time, unable to face the five-minutes-a-day change, I'm changing this way:
Three days delaying by 15 minutes; then three days delaying by half an hour, then three days delaying by forty-five minutes, and finally, feeding a whole hour late (just before the actual time change on the clocks), so by the time I have to set clocks and watches, I won't have to fuss about feeding and giving insulin, nor do anything strange with my Calendarscope program.
And STILL, I'm finding this VERY ANNOYING! I wonder if next spring, I'll just change all at once. I think that would work okay in the spring - I'd be feeding a whole hour EARLY. In the fall, though, I think my dogs would have an awful time, waiting a whole HOUR for their breakfast, and worse, a whole HOUR for their supper!
How do you all deal with this?
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