The Washington DC area has been suffering from the type of
winter I hate. It’s been well below freezing but we’ve only gotten dustings of
snow on the ground; not enough to make a snowman but enough to make commuting
and outdoor activities miserable. It’s dark when I leave for work in the
morning and even darker when I return home. According to the Astronomical
Applications Department at the US Naval Observatory which gives you daily
tables of sunshine hours, Washington DC gets around 10 hours in February.
That’s not unreasonable when Anchorage only gets 7 but it doesn’t feel like enough.
You’re probably wondering if I suffer from Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD) and I don’t. But, as someone who doesn’t ski or ice-stake
I do feel the winter blues.
So here are my tricks for beating that feeling of lethargy
and winter ba hum bug
1)
Eat
chocolate. No really, this is a scientifically
proven remedy. Dark chocolate has stimulants that activate the pleasure
centers in your brain. The catch is you want chocolate with high cocoa content.
Yuuummm…
2) Open all
the curtains and move the couch to face the window. I try not to walk
around naked and hope that the neighbors have better things to do than to look
at what I’m doing. Just being able to stare out at the light beyond improves my
mood. I put out bird feeders and enjoy watching them peck, and okay…perhaps I
do a little neighborhood spying. It’s
the kind of light therapy doctors recommend for SAD without having to buy
artificial lamps.
3)
Books,
books, and more books. Okay so this is self evident, whose mood doesn’t improve
with a good book. Hint hint—we have a fabulous January Heartwarming line up you can check out.
4)
Get jiggy
with it. Not only is music also a mood enhancer, I get up and do a little
dance (yes, even with the curtains open). It gets me moving, lets me shake off
that lethargic feeling, and warms me up.
I love hearing from readers so email me at
Sophia at SophiaSasson.com, feel free to sign up for my newsletter or follow me onTwitter or Facebook.
Right now, I really want to know-- what do you do to beat
the winter blues?
Morning, Sophia :) Enjoyed your post. Music is a must for me, and I have been known to bust a move, too. My husband and I are going on a cruise to the Caribbean in March, that's been working wonders at banishing the winter blues <3
ReplyDeleteA March cruise is wonderful. Have fun!
DeleteMy province, Alberta, is the sunniest in Canada with half of the daylight hours in bright sunshine, as in wear sunglasses to cut the snow glare. I can relate to your dark days, Sophia, from having lived on the West Coast where it was milder but far more gloomy. If it's not too, too cold I find a walk in the sunshine sets me right. Best!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the outdoor light helps lift my mood a lot. When I lived in the Northwest (most of my life) I hated rainy, dark days. And I really disliked going to work and coming home in the dark. But there, I got the lights for bedroom and kitchen. They helped a lot. Hope spring is just around the corner for everyone.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophia. other than heading south for a winter vacation, I say immersing yourself in books of any kind is a good remedy for the winter blues.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I'm definitely with you on the light.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your remedies. Just do what you have to do to wait out the gloom of Janurary and February. Spring will come.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need those sunglasses in winter when the sun is out, and even more so when there's snow on the ground and the glare is blinding. I like your tips, maybe especially the ones about chocolate and curling up with books--and juicy amazon or Netflix or Hulu series. And dancing is good, too. Happy winter to us all! January has flown by with the speed hurricane force winds!
ReplyDeleteGet jiggy! Love this! Great tips and I especially love that now I have a good excuse for all the chocolate I eat. Whenever I clean house, I put on Irish music because it makes me bounce and I clean faster. It always puts me in a good mood. What wonderful tips!
ReplyDeleteWinter can be hard when it's dark and gloomy, but never fear, spring and summer are on the way! :-) Thank goodness the days are getting longer again.
ReplyDeleteI like those tips. I think they definitely help. Actually, I don’t mind wintertime. I wish it stayed lighter longer, but I like the coziness of winter activities. I think it’s because I hate the Summer heat so much. I dread it. So anything to me is better than that. And I love that there are hardly any bugs in winter. We got a lovely snowfall here in NC. Everything looked so beautiful. And where I live in NC, it’s almost always bright. My house gets flooded with light on a daily basis, even during winter. I must be one of the few who feels sad to see it coming to an end. (Except Anna Adams. I think she’s with me on this one.) ( :
ReplyDelete