article on my yoga blog<\/a> about what it feels like to live with SAD for 6 months out of every 12. <\/p>\n\n\n\nI’m finally choosing to not be miserable every winter, and will be spending part of every Dark Season in a sunnier location from now on. Not just because it’s fun to be out in the sunshine, but for my physical and mental health and well-being. This year I’m spending 6 weeks in southern Utah in Nov\/Dec, and have been here for 6 days thus far. The difference in how I feel between here and Washington State is incredible, and I’ve been journaling about my experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since BluesBoots is about spending time in the great outdoors with Mother Nature, I think this is an appropriate place to share my winter sunshine experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m fortunate that 2 of my 3 part time jobs are online and portable. Spending 6 weeks in the St. George, Utah, area means I can still work while here, but also get daily doses of sunshine and outdoor activity. I teach and practice yoga, and am a Mindful Outdoor Guide, so I\u2019m very in tune with what my body and mind are doing along with the seasons and outdoor conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things I\u2019ve noticed in the past 6 days being in sunny Southern Utah instead of Washington State:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I don\u2019t need to have lights on in the house all day long even during daylight hours. Bright natural light v. electric light all day \u2013 big difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I have so much more energy physically \u2013 outdoors daily for several hours in the form of hiking and biking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I feel very alert mentally, not like a hibernating animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 My mood is soooo good, even though I miss my family and friends at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m waking up to natural light in the morning, not an alarm clock in the dark. My waking up experience is so much better, I\u2019m ready for every day instead of having to drag myself out of bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m not at all sleepy in the afternoons. At home in WA in winter I feel like someone has drugged me to the point that I literally can\u2019t make it through a day without 1 to 2 naps. (I\u2019ve fallen asleep with my face on my keyboard before, not pleasant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I’m naturally sleeping about 7.5 – 8 hours a day, not 10+. That means I have more time to do things during the day, hooray!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m not freezing cold and fighting to stay warm all winter. I don\u2019t need to wear 4 layers of clothes and a wool hat *inside* my house because I run so much colder than the rest of my family in wintertime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m NOT CRAVING SUGAR \u2013 which is a huge thing for me. In winter all I want is sugar and chocolate, to an obsessive degree, for that serotonin hit that I don\u2019t get in wintertime. I gain weight every winter. Not craving sugar and being so much more active daily will hopefully stave off my yearly winter weight gain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m not having to force myself to exercise like I do at home. I know it\u2019s good for me but in winter it\u2019s like torture making my body move when all it wants to do is crawl into bed. Here in the sun I\u2019m loving being active, it feels wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I\u2019m not feeling the need to snack all day long, I\u2019m eating much less than I would be at home, but have so much more energy. It\u2019s easier for me to eat healthy. Part of that is how I feel, and part is that I\u2019m on my own these weeks without family in the house for now, so all of their snacky foods aren\u2019t available to me because I\u2019m not buying any for myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 It\u2019s amazing to be able to wear normal clothes and not have to bundle and layer indoors like I do at home, where I feel like I\u2019m freezing my arse off for 6 months of every 12, even though my thermostat here is set to almost the same temp as we have it at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Even though it’s not warm here by any means, mid-50s F during the day, just the sun exposure itself is making a huge impact on how cold\/not cold I feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary: For me in winter in WA, sleep and cold go hand in hand. When I\u2019m cold (which is pretty much 50% of my life) I get painfully sleepy, and vice versa. Here with daily sun exposure I don\u2019t feel cold indoors, I\u2019m awake and alert throughout the day without an afternoon slump, I\u2019m not craving sugar, my mood is exponentially better even though I miss my family, and I have more energy than I know what to do with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m calling it a success. Thanks for letting me share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLiving in Western Washington State means having very little daylight during wintertime, which is compounded by the winter climate of rain, gray, gloom, and dark. I call it “The Dark Season.” I’ve struggled with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for 30+ years. I’m SOLAR POWERED, I need sunlight and outdoor activity to feel good, and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"\n
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