Not to worry, we know what we’re doing. We are Tundra territory, right? Well, for a big chunk of the population, this time of year can be super daunting.
Marquette psychology professor Dr. Stephen Saunders explains what we can expect and what we can do to maybe make this a better season, “The most basic thing about winter is there’s less sunlight. And since there’s less sunlight, it affects us a lot in ways that are perhaps unexpected. One of the unexpected ways that it affects us is it affects our hormones, the level of serotonin in our brain. It affects our schedules. Of course, it’s colder, so that will drive people inside as well.”
So it’s not just one thing , and we’ve already had our first test of our fortitude of the season with the end of daylight saving time. By the way, this seasonal change is actually a thing, diagnosable.
Saunders says, “Less sunlight over fall, over winter can lead some people to develop what has come to be called seasonal affective disorder.”
Also known as the winter blues. And it may not happen to everyone, but it does affect a good chunk.
“To some extent, it probably affects one in five persons. To a really bad extent, it affects about 5% or about one in 20 people,” explains Saunders.
And for some already predisposed to depression, it could become pretty serious, “Some people might actually need to consider consulting with their doctor and potentially get on some antidepressant medication.”
One of the reasons they think we are more likely to get sick in the winter is the lack of vitamin D from lack of sunlight. There’s some research suggesting that taking vitamin D helps your immune system.
Did you know? There’s a whole culture that has this whole winter thing well in hand. Think of them as “professional winterizers,” the Scandinavians.
Professor Saunders says, “Well, I am married to a Norwegian, and so I do know a little bit about the Norwegian culture. And if I had to summarize it, it’s embrace winter. They get out in the snow. That is probably a really helpful attitude if other people could use that.”
It’s a whole paradigm shift. We just need to change our attitude toward the change of the seasons. So what are some things we can do for a successful season?
Saunders explains, “There are lights and they can be found on Amazon and they’re not particularly expensive. Research has shown that that helps quite a bit.”
We can follow what the Danish call hygge or creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people.
“They don’t let winter interfere with social activities, getting together with some friends. And maybe it’s the case that a lot of people do less socializing over winter because it can be more difficult. Driving in the slush and stuff, but if you can put up with the difficulty and do it anyway, that would be very, very good for your mental health as well.” says Saunders.
It may not keep us from feeling the effects of old man winter, but if we can look at it differently, we’ll have a successful winter season.
If you’d like to learn more about Seasonal Affective Disorder, you can visit the National Institute on Mental Health’s site here.
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