Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 05/99) - With the midnight sun so bright, how do you get to sleep at night?

That is the question that was posed to several Northern readers to find out how Northerners cope with the near 24 hour of daylight that is found in the summer months.

For some of us, it's hard to tell whether we're coming or going, just ask Rosanne Lawless in Iqaluit.

"I sleep with great difficulty in the summer," Lawless said. "If I don't put dark shades on the window, I can't get to sleep."

Sometimes, Lawless finds it hard to tell whether she should be catching Zs or getting ready for work.

"One time I phoned work to call in to say that I was going to be late," Lawless said. "I had to be at work at 7 a.m. and I thought that I was two hours late. It was really only 9 at night."

Well, better early than late, some employers might think. Even if it is 10 hours.

Chantel Beck in Fort Resolution informs us that the late staying sun is perfect for a little midnight mischief, especially if your older sibling is ruled by the clock, like Lawless.

"My friend changed her sister's clock to 3 a.m. and she got up and jumped in the shower to get ready for work," Beck said. "She would've have left for work, but my friend felt sorry for her and told her (about the clock) just before she left."

Ada Ekootak, in Holman, has developed a plan to help her with those long sunny nights.

"I take garbage bags and cut them in half and tape it the long way over the window," Ekootak said. "Those forced air furnace fans work good to keep you cool too."

Ekootak mentions that, even though temperatures in Holman can reach the high 20s, cooling off hasn't been that much of a problem lately.

"We're expecting snow today," Ekootak added.

Rosie Shaimaiyuk Sr., in Pangnirtung, scoffs at the idea of anyone in the far North having trouble getting in the summer -- it's all just a part of Northern living.

"Except for the kids playing and the dogs barking, I still get to sleep at night," Shaimaiyuk said. "I've got a lot of experience with it up here."

For Fred Best in Wrigley sleeping under the nidnight sun is not a problem when you put the kind of day in that he is use to.

"Getting to sleep is no problem when you work 12 or more hours a day," Best said.

Johnny Tuktoo Jr. explains that summer isn't the time for sleeping, it's time to get out on to the land.

"Most of the adults stay up late and get together to go hunting and fishing until the wee hours," Tucktoo said. "You work yourself out and then get to work at 9 a.m."