Staff Writer- Mary Athorp
Let’s not beat around the bush here: Daylight Savings Time sucks.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic and a little vulgar. Let me try again.
Daylight Savings Time is… not my favorite thing in the world. There’s just something about the sky getting dark at four o’clock that makes me want to curl up into the fetal position and cry until somebody comes and picks me up and sets me down in a comfy pile of pillows. But I can’t even do that! I’m expected to function under these conditions—proceed with life normally, if you will, and I’m just about ready to go on strike.
Whew. Here I go being dramatic again. But, perhaps there is some sort of reality within my dramatics. I’m sure I’m not the only one who harbors some hard feelings towards Daylight Savings Time. It plagues us all. Plus, seasonal depression is most certainly real, and the less sunlight we get, the more grumpy and sad we feel. Nonetheless, as I said before, we must prevail. I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but we do still have nearly half a semester to go, and I think we’re all counting on each other to make it through.
So, how do we stand up against our common enemy, Daylight Savings Time? How do we unite and fight against seasonal depression? Well, I’ve collected three tips and tricks for all of us to tuck inside our pockets and pull out when the sun is hard to find.
- Get outside. The three p.m. to five p.m. hours are perfect for a little walk in the arb or even just a two minute sitting break on a bench. Yes, it’s cold. But bundle up and let some vitamin D soak into your skin even for just a few minutes. It will make a difference—not only will you feel better about yourself because you got up and did something, but your body will physically feel better with the additional sunlight.
- Schedule time with people. Socializing seems like a lot of work when there is no sunlight to encourage us to have a good time. Plus, getting to the events might mean walking across campus in the dark and cold. But, I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again: it will be worth it. It will be worth it. Spending time with others increases our oxytocin levels. Oxytocin makes us happy. Boom– seasonal depression defeated. Your friends and the people you love are the secret to joy. Go spend some time with them.
- Don’t just do homework when it’s dark outside. Okay, this one might be a little difficult to explain, but bear with me. The evenings are often associated with homework time. We often don’t like dark evenings, and we also often don’t like homework. So, if you pair two things you really don’t like at the same time, it just makes for a bad experience. Now, I’m not saying don’t do your homework. I’m saying break it up a little. Take up knitting, or reading, or do a ten minute yoga video in your dorm room. Associating the darkness with something other than homework will rewrite the pathway in your brain and decrease the dread that you might feel, instead replacing it with some sort of excitement.
Now, I’m no Daylight Savings or seasonal depression expert. But I do have my fair share of experience, and these are the types of tricks that have helped me in years past. Feel free to try some of them out, or explore some ideas of your own. But, whatever you do, don’t succumb to the fetal position. Let’s stand together against the darkness, against the clocks, against the ache for sunlight and find ways to continue functioning… together.
That ending was most certainly dramatic, but sometimes, drama is necessary, especially at a time like this.