Dim Sun Serves Up Sadness

The official start of spring may be March 21, but I’m not feeling it yet!
Right about now, it seems like winter will never end. I blame my blues on the cold temps and cloudy skies. It feels like my neck is permanently squinched up from huddling against the chills. In short, there’s nothing wrong with me that a good full-body massage and a couple of weeks in the Caribbean wouldn’t fix right up!

I think there’s some truth to the idea that wintertime itself is what’s bringing me down. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression characterized by wintertime weight gain, fatigue, craving for sweet and starchy foods, and tendency to oversleep.
According to experts, the likely culprit is lack of sunlight.
Scandinavians are prone to SAD, as are Alaskans. The further you get from the equator, the weaker the sunlight is, and in the winter when the sun is farthest from the Earth, that extra distance is all it takes to push you over the edge and into a first-rate funk.

You can buy a fancy light box and sit near it (but don’t look directly at it). Just as good: go outside and soak up some sun! If it’s February and you’re having trouble concentrating, stop squinting at your computer, stand up, get outside and turn your chin up to the sky for 10 minutes or so. And moving around while you’re out there won’t hurt either. If you’re feeling down and out, don’t go postal; take a brisk 10-minute walk and kick-start those endorphins into action!
It’s no surprise that many northerners head to Florida every winter. I’ve heard them referred to as snowbirds. Although there’s also a lucky contingent that live up in the land of the Yankees in the summer and fall, stay in Florida for the winter and stop somewhere in Appalachia for a few months – or the rest of their lives – to enjoy our awe-inspiring springs. I call them halfbacks.
Various pop songs have made reference to SAD. I’ll now paraphrase some lines from an old chestnut:
“Gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face
(I know you miss that big bright ball of warmth that used to be up in the sky. Try not to dwell on the fact that it’s colder outside than a brass commode in an igloo.)
Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face
(Goodness – I actually don’t need to wear a scarf today! Hey, the dog has started shedding again. And are those crocuses I see budding up through the snow?)
… and spread sunshine all over the place, just put on a happy face!”
(When you smile, you can be the sunshine in someone else’s day! Alternately, you can put them on a plane to a Miami hotel with spa service and a mini-bar. Your call!)
Playlist:
1. Sometimes in Winter – Blood Sweat & Tears
2. Seasons in the Sun – Me First & the Gimme Gimmes
3. Hazy Shade of Winter – Simon & Garfunkel
4. Too Cold in the Winter – Cry of Love
5. Invisible Sun – The Police
6. In the Winter – Janis Ian
7. Cold Day in the Sun – Foo Fighters
8. I’ll Follow the Sun – The Beatles
9. The Warmth of the Sun – The Beach Boys
10. Florida – Patty Griffin