#*wake

Starting off, I’ll talk about how Humans live on Earth for the sake of context. Or, more accurately, how we sleep. Humans have a sleep-wake cycle that matches up with the rotation of the Earth, mainly because our brains produce melatonin in the absence of light, and we have long evolved to adapt to this schedule. This is a circadian rhythm, named for being a cycle that’s approximately a day.

Approximately, you ask? Yes, our sleep-wake cycle isn’t exactly 24 hours, it’s a little more like a 24-25 hour cycle. It’s the reason why flying west gives us less jetlag than going east, because it’s better for us to lengthen or days than to cut it short. I’ve also heard at some point that it’s the reason why a shifting work schedule is better for your rhythm, but I can’t go into more detail on that front.

BUT! Kinecelerans don’t have a 24-25 hour circadian rhythm, they have whatever hour rhythm their planet rotates at. Sure, assumably they have a little leniency for a longer day, but ultimately Earth’s rotation speed is significantly slower than Kinet to the point of sickness. I may not have any numbers to talk about their specific sleep-wake cycle needs, but I will detail how it DOES make them sick instead.

If a Kineceleran were to actually try to stay awake for the Earth day, they would be awake for at least a few Kinet days. This would definitely be sleep deprivation, and if I know the internet, everyone’s had at least one day of it. The longer sleep deprivation goes on, the more side effects one has.

Referring back to Humans, this involves a lot of perceptual and cognitive distortions, with hallucinations and delusions coming in at the 4-5 day mark respectively. In terms of physical harm, lack of sleep does indeed cause a weaker immune system, because you’re not having any restorative sleep in between your bouts of wakefulness.

Not to say that Human symptoms translate exactly to Kinecelerans, but that right there is the key to this talk.

Hypothetically, though probably unrealistic, a Kinet day could very well last 1-2 hours. Though this most likely isn’t the case, a Kineceleran trying to stay awake for a full Earth day would be sleep deprived for 12-24 days in a row. This is at maximum, and sure it’s a definite stretch, but this is the primary reason why most Kinecelerans get sick from the slower rotation.

It’s not motion sickness, it’s sleep deprivation sickness.

Of course, a Kineceleran can clock off for their sleep every so often, but another problem arises. What about the production of melatonin, or some other sleep chemical that Kinecelerans may instead possess. While it could be possible that they don’t need an absence of light to activate sleep chemical production, let’s turn to the next common natural light source on Kinet.

Lightning.

Sleeping during a lightning storm, especially without a roof over one’s head, would not be evolutionary that great. Maybe instead of the light itself preventing sleep chemicals, it can be the presence of adrenaline (or, again, some equivalent) that keeps Kinecelerans awake. Naturally they’d be full of the stuff, being rather active, so typically stormy nights are troublesome for the many home grown Kinecelerans.

On Earth, after a certain time of morning, there’s a lot of activity outside. Noises and a whole heaping of lights may cause a Kineceleran to associate the hustle and bustle of Earth to the likeness of lightning storms, and their body acts as such by producing stress hormones. So even if they do catch their ‘z’s during the day, they can end up being partially sleep deprived if they didn’t catch enough of their recommended hours (and maybe minutes)

But that doesn’t mean Kinecelerans can’t overcome these issues.

Being born on Earth may help.

Helen Wheels, who we all know is a hybrid get back in your corner rooters, may still have half an inclination to sleep more often than a Human would, but she’s probably sleeping less than a Kineceleran should. Full Kinecelerans born on Earth may also adapt their sleep-wake cycle, maybe power nap when they would typically be asleep and fully clock out at night, sorta like the difference between weekdays and weekends.

Visitors and immigrants especially may also adapt too, but less in changing their cycles. No, what happens here is architecturally. Surely, no doubt, Kinecelerans would have their own ‘block-out-blinds’ over on Kinet for the especially excitable, advertised to block out the flashes of light and significant noise of the storms.

Earth may not be as bright as a flash of lighting, but the light is consistent and lasts for many Kinet days. The hustle and bustle of Earth however, is a lot quieter than a lightning bolt. Soundproof rooms with no windows (or some super intense block-out-blinds) are a Kinecelerans perfect bedroom, and allows for them to clock out whenever they need to.

Maybe occasionally they spend too long outdoors, meaning their adrenaline is still running even when they’re super tired, but isn’t it the equivalent thing for Humans and our screens?

Haha, anyway, I hope you enjoyed these thoughts.