6 pm Feels Like Midnight

I was all excited about getting that extra hour of sleep with the time change, but now, not so much.  My radio show on 92.9 WTUG is Sunday through Friday from 2 pm to 7 pm.  But, by 6 pm, it feels like Midnight to me; it’s so dark.  So, just imagine from October to February it was 24 hours of darkness.  Well, that place is Longyearbyen, which is the northernmost town in the world.  How do they cope?  Resident, Sarah Strand talked with the Fast Company and offered “her recommendations for maintaining your happiness, and your motivation, during the long, dark winter months:  Keep to a routine, plan excuses to be social, opt for a technical solution, find things to look forward to, and don’t fight the darkness.”  Here were my takeaways from her recommendations in effort to lemons and make lemonade.

Keep to a routine:  Make a set of regular plans, so you don’t get caught up into the mind cycle of “It’s dark; let me just go home.”  For example, run errands after work, go to the gym, do household chores.

Plan excuses to be social:  Instead of saying it’s late and cold, plan some indoor fun outing with family and friends.

Opt for a technical solution: Strand recommends SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) light therapy.  It is a fascinating subject; I plan on doing more research on this.

Find things to look forward to:  Try to make plans with others, the holidays are coming - enjoy the various town events, enjoy the evenings with game nights, and more.

Don’t fight the darkness: STOP MOANING about it being dark.  LOL

 

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