Every winter, I am affected by the dwindling sunlight. I've checked with my teammates who, like me, work in front of a computer, day in and day out, as we navigate property management software, and they report similar effects. In winter, my sleep cycle can be sporadic and I get moody for no real reason... and it's porportionate to how deep into winter it is. In Oregon, by the winter solstice, we're all a bit cranky!
It's no coincidence that when the sun comes out, I'm happier. It's not just because I like the way it warms my skin, makes flowers bloom and everything look shiny. Like me, a significant portion of our population is literally starving for Vitamin D and once we get a proper dose, homeostasis kicks in and we begin to feel awesome again. Without it, though, a whole host of physical and emotional ailments can effect you.
Many factors play a part in why so many are deficient in Vitamin D - sunscreen, processed diets, excessive indoor living, genetic predisposition, age and location on the planet. Over the years I've learned that I can avert seasonal affective disorder with some pretty simple steps.
The first is to make sure I get outside every single day. If it's just too cold or stormy, I work on boosting my diet in food rich in Vitamin D: Fatty fish (Salmon, tuna,) Mushrooms (shittake or portebella), whole dairy products, egg yolks, pork.
There is a very cool (albeit not that user-friendly) online-calculator that some scientists in Norway created to determine just how much sunlight you should be getting for ample vitamine D, based on a variety of factors. You have to do some adjusting for your location as they don't have US cities so google your city's latitude/longitude. And if you're South/West, then convert your L/L to be a negative number. And if you're picking a specific time of day, know they are using UTC (Greenwich Mean Time). Here is a link to a time converter. Oh, and be sure to use a 24-hour clock, and a best guess on ozone thickness if you don't know(Australia... better put thin!) And, last glitch for Americans, is the altitude - remember 1 kilometer = 3,300 feet. (Thank you, Dr. Mercola, for finding these great resources!!)
PHHEWWW!!!! After figuring all that out, I found that today, October 29th, I needed 18 minutes in the sun. And so today my coffee break was spent outside, soaking in some rays. Aaaaaahhhh... (If I had been in Costa Rica, I would have only needed 3 minutes...)
Janell K. is a member of Rentec Direct, a web-based property management software solution, offering tools to Landlords and professional Property Managers, including tenant screening, advertising support, accounting, reporting and payment processing.
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