Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 29

Tuesday, April 4, 2000 5E Reno Gazette-Journal 1 As daylight increases, mood and sleep change Movies help celebrate traditions of the tartan David B.Parker Reno Gazette-Journal KILT LORE: These are the books that Duncan MacLean will be presenting to the Northwest Reno Library on Thursday. SCOT from IE immersed in their country and their clan's history early in life. "This is my father's kilt which I inherited," he said. "I have six sisters and each was named for an island off the West Coast of Scotland. My parents were among the founders of the London branch of the Clan MacLean organization branch in 1953.

We were living there at the time. I was one of the founders of the California-Nevada organization." Mel Gibson, who portrayed Scottish hero William Wallace in the movie "Braveheart," and Liam Neeson, who starred in "Rob Roy," made kilts sort of a fashion statement. The movies also have made people of Scottish descent more interested in their histories, the MacLeans said. "Now people are finding out about their clans," said Elizabeth MacLean, who is several generations removed from SLEEP from IE corrects itself within three days. For some people who are especially sensitive, it can take up to three weeks.

But that's not the only thing going on with people's internal clocks at this time of year, Binks said. "It's always intrigued me that when it gets darker later, people will go to bed later, even if they have to get up at the same time," he said. "They're sleep-depriving themselves." Most people tend to be night owls, Ingham said. They prefer to stay up late and delay getting up in the morning. "That's why we love weekends," Ingham said.

Daylight-saving time tacks an hour of sunlight onto the end of the day and makes it a little darker in the morning for a few weeks. But the days are becoming longer anyway on both ends as the northern hemisphere moves toward spring and summer. Longer days can also disturb our sleep patterns, the sleep experts said. You feel as if you're not sleeping well, because you have your sleep spread out rather than where it is supposed to be. You're awake, not asleep and that makes you out of sorts.

to affect her sleep habits. "I like the extra hour of daylight" at the end of the day, she said. "I love daylight-saving time. I like to exercise after work, which gives me more energy and also helps me sleep better." But if all these clock and sun changes do tire you out, a couple things might make you sleep easier, Zimmerman said. Go to bed earlier even if you don't fall asleep right away.

"Most of us can't change the time we have to go to work, so get to bed earlier," he said. Don't think you can get by on less sleep if you're used to the seven or eight hours you regularly sleep, Zimmerman said. Contrary to popular belief, most people really do need seven or eight hours of sleep nightly to function well. If you get less, you'll shortchange yourself and you'll be sleepy, he said. "You'll be inattentive, making poor decisions, performing poorly at repetitive tasks" Zimmerman said.

"For challenging things, like getting out of a burning building, people do fine on less sleep. But for boring, mundane things, like making airlines reservations on a computer, you'll make mistakes. That inattentiveness is caused by sleep deprivation." anniversary tall ships against spectators armed with such weapons as sponges and Cuban bread. The republic's website is www.conchrepublic.com. The Key West Visitor's Bureau can be reached at www.fla-keys.com.

The idea of "Conch Republic" resulted from Key West protests surrounding a border patrol blockade on U.S. 1 in 1982. Associated Press "It's not all related to daylight-saving time, but also to moving into summer," Binks said. But longer summer days also can make us feel better. People feel more active when they experience sunlight.

Seasonal differences related to sunlight are less pronounced in northern Nevada than in areas with cloudier winters, he added. Longer days bring other changes. At Project Restate Homeless Services, the lengthening days of spring bring in more people who need help, said program director Henry Lucero. "We see more people hanging around because the weather is warmer," he said. "More people are coming in to access services.

The days are longer, and it makes it more convenient for them. We see an increase in clients from about the end of March until May because the weather is nicer." Spring and daylight-saving time don't do much to Lucero's internal clock. "Personally, the change does not affect my sleep," he said. Alice Good, who works for the University of Nevada's Cooperative Extension program, likes the longer days for after-work exercise and recreation. Daylight-saving time doesn't seem Events include an April 22 "drag" race featuring female impersonators in high heels running down Duvall Street in gowns, full makeup and big hair.

On April 27, a parade dubbed the world's longest will start down Duvall Street at the Atlantic Ocean and proceed to the Gulf of Mexico. Other events include a bed race and a ship-to-shore battle pitting Feminist convention roars Key West marks eccentric Scotland but is of Scottish heritage. "If they don't get kilts, they at least get a piece of their tartans." Tartans are the plaid wool patterns that serve as emblems of the clans. Each clan has a different tartan, used for kilts and other items. Some have several tartans used for different occasions.

Thursday is National Tartan Unlike other groups that have fought for enfranchisement, women have always been burdened by issues of style. The message has been judged by women as well as men as much by how it is delivered as by its content. Are they being assertive (good) or strident (bad)? Is it OK to be a feminist and wear makeup? Have a family? Shave your legs? "My boss said they're a bunch of man-haters," said the middle-aged woman tending bar at a reception. "But they seem real nice to me." The young women were perhaps more inclined than their elders toward body-piercing, short spiky hair, tight T-shirts or slim pantsuits, and fashionable nerd eyeglasses. Marcia Kidney KEY WEST, Fla.

Celebrating the Florida Keys as a "sovereign state of mind" and a "fifth-world nation," the Conch Republic marks its 18th anniversary with a 10-day birthday party April 21-30. The republic, whose motto is "We Seceded Where Others Failed," says it is planning events that will bring more humor, warmth and respect to the planet. BALTIMORE Oh, no. Not that song. The song that induced a thousand winces.

"I am woman, hear me roarIn numbers too big to ignore." Whoever dubbed that the "women's national anthem" should be forced to run a marathon in S-inch heels. But at least Helen Reddy isn't here in the Baltimore Convention Center at the Feminist Expo 2000 to sing it herself. Instead, a bold contralto named Angela Caesar is trying woman-fully to get the crowd to sing along. But this group is dominated by women younger than 30. They don't know the words.

And they don't seem to be much for sing-alongs although, being good sports, they are smiling and swaying to the music. This is good news. The message from the roughly 7,000 people who gathered here last weekend is that feminism is not dead, but it is different. The size of this three-day meeting more than the 4,000 at the first Expo, in 1996 is partly the fruit of a new wave of campus organizing, women's studies programs cranking out graduates by the bus load, and gung-ho athletes produced by Title IX legislation. The Best Pre-Owned Vans 322-3700 STREETER IMPORTS www.streeterimports.com Day in the United States.

The Scottish Tourist Board encourages the 12 million North Americans of Scottish descent to wear a tartan on that day. Tourism board officials report that there are more than 2,400 registered tartans in the world, including one for the FBI and one for the Walt Disney character Scrooge McDuck. with activity Some brought boyfriends (or girlfriends) or their moms. Some were looking for reinforcement, some for abortion-rights organizing tips, some for jobs. There were large crowds for writer bell hooks, for renegade professor Mary Daly, for a panel featuring female television scriptwriters.

Heather Marshall, 16, is wearing a blouse she made out of a pillowcase. It is sleeveless and has practically no back. Cool! She and Kiani Angus-Torres are in the Montclair (N.J.) High School's chapter of the National Organization for Women. Being a feminist isn't considered cool, Kiani said, but she still wanted to come to Expo 2000. Washington Post Let me help you feel at Call today! Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp.

6160 Plumas Ste. Reno, NV 89509 -NfcV MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS EVERY SATURDAY. There's an all-new approach to a part of the paper that's all about town, all about people people around us today, people from our past, people in the news, people helping to shape our future. Appropriately, it's called "People." And it appears Saturdays in the pages of your paper. So if you're looking for some interesting profiles about some intriguing people, start your Saturdays by heading straight for "People." In the paper, or at RGJ.com.

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