TAKE THE POLL: CLICK HERE
Have you noticed how many people almost hibernate during the winter?
It usually starts around or a little after the holidays. Between November and late December, we’re inundated with social gatherings, despite the dropping temperatures and disappearing sunlight. Once the festivities die down, we all want to lie down. The natural decrease in light leads to greater melatonin creation, which means it is pretty normal to want to sleep more during the winter months. (POPULAR POLL: Are You Cutting Back On Sugar This Year?)
“Sleep needs for most adults are somewhere between (seven to nine) hours per night, and that is consistent no matter how cold or dark it gets outside,” says Dr. Raj Dasgupta told CNN. “However, it is common to feel like you are sleeping more during the winter due to the fact that we lose an hour of daylight when we enter standard time, which is associated with the early onset of darkness.”
Feeling Down About The Cold?
Seasonal depression hits an estimated 10 million Americans every year, according to Vox, suggesting this is a real pandemic we need to deal with. In super cold cultures, like Scandinavia, locals lean into the winter blues with a practice called “hygge,” which is a type of artful coziness where one still forces themselves out into the harsh conditions, if only to relish the time inside that much more.
“I think maybe it’s the way that we’ve kind of learned to survive through hard winters for a long time. We find a lot of comfort in just doing the really small things to make your home a bit more cozy and just lighten the mood. And a lot of us have grown up staying in family cabins — that’s a thing, where we would go to a cabin up in the mountains or by the sea or somewhere else,” one local told the outlet. (POPULAR POLL: Are You Trying A New Diet Or Eating Plan This Year?)
Wherever you go, make sure you bring close family or friends along with you. ” I think that’s a part of the coziness culture as well, that we have this kind of small group. Maybe it’s just a partner or maybe it’s a couple of friends or maybe it’s just a couple of family members that you’re really close with, and that’s your flock,” she added.
How Do You Feel?
Take action by using your voice today. Did you know that lawmakers, business leaders, and even public servants use polling data to inform their policies and practices? These might seem like simple questions, but answering them can have far-reaching impacts on the world around you.
Don’t let your voice be lost in the ether of the Internet! Take control and take back your power today by signing up to take a poll — take all of them if you like!