Spring is here! Campus greens are open to sit and campus has a whole different feel. The days are longer and the morning walk to class is refreshing.
Winter in Vermont is dark, long and cold. Walking home from class in the dark can make the days feel long and nights even longer. Lack of sunlight and cold weather can have an effect on your mood.
“Humans retain neurobiological responses to seasonal changes in the duration of daylight over the year in spite of a life-style usually independent of the external day–night signal [1]. Seasonality has been documented in many functions, from mood and cognitive function to sleep, hormones, brain neurotransmitters and gene expression.” (Justice, Ajdacic & Rossler, 2019)
In the first week we talked about ways where you can connect with nature and techniques to lower stress. The winter has an effect on us all, so use earth day, and our helpful tips to
References
Wirz-Justice, A., Ajdacic, V., Rössler, W. et al. Prevalence of seasonal depression in a prospective cohort study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 269, 833–839 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-018-0921-3
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