These dark cold winter days are loved by only a few. For most students, freezing temperatures and shorter periods of sunlight will take a toll.
One study found that more than a quarter of college-level students have Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the winter blues, which are caused by unstable hormone levels due to the drop in sunlight hours.
How do you know you have the blues? Difficulty waking up, lack of motivation, problems concentrating and frequent cravings for carbohydrate-rich comfort food like chocolate all fall under common winter blues symptoms. The good news is you can avoid it all together with a few steps.
Light up your life. The sun may not be out as much but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it when it does make an appearance. The more bright light you’re exposed to each morning, the better. If you get up after sunrise, you could go outside or sit by a large window — even on cloudy days. Light boxes or “happy lights,” that produce similar effects to the sun’s natural rays have also been known to be effective.
Simulating your own dawn has been found to be a good alternative to dark mornings. Set a timer, using a light box, or even just a normal adjustable incandescent, to come on before sunrise and increase it’s brightness as you are getting ready in the morning.
Working out can be a gladiator in the fight to tackle the wintertime blues. Aerobic exercise improves mood and has been shown to reduce stress. Briskly walking to class, snow shoeing, skiing, sledding and having a snowball fight have all be proven to help sufferers of the blues feel better.
Fight the junk cravings. Try eating larger portions of complex carbohydrates, like wheat pasta and brown rice, along with healthy simple carbohydrates like fruits and fruit juices. Avoiding unhealthy snacks that cause momentary relief, but ultimately decrease energy like soda and sugary treats.
Early to bed early to rise may be something your grandparents espoused but it really works. A common behavior among many students is engaging in late-night study sessions and then sleeping in the following morning. But this only shortens your sun exposure. The longer you are awake during daylight hours the longer your exposure to sunlight.