>.... So I bought the blackout shades and I've noticed MUCH more intense
>dreams.  I'm wondering if this is because of increased melatonin production?
>Any way, I did this in the winter, and now that it is summer, I'm wondering
>if the bedroom is too dark.  With the shades up, a room naturally gets
>gradually lighter during the morning hours, but now, with the blackout
>shades, the room stays quite dark.  Thoughts?

Well, according to the theory, we can get by with less sleep when there is
more daylight available. The reason we slept more is because it got dark
and we couldn't do anything else. The advent of fire in caves started a
bunch of things, like recreational sex, storytelling...it's kind of like
little kids staying up late just because they can, I imagine. So, to do it
really Paleo is to GO to sleep when it gets dark, no matter when that is.
It's hard to fit this kind of pattern into modern existence, but I think
your dark shades are a very positive step, even if you can't make much more
in the way of changes. It would be nice to sleep seasonally, but I think
the most important thing is to get lots of sleep, nine or ten hours in the
dark, in order to allow everything to renew itself. And no, I don't do this
yet, either, although I'm on no one else's schedule. My dog comes lots
closer, probably because no one sends him email:)

ginny and Tomo

All stunts performed without a net!