life & style // no. 16 theotherpress.ca

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Winter fatigue

» Why winter can wear us out

: can often be quite dreary as well

: during winter, limiting sunlight

? even more. When it’s dark out,

: the body produces the hormone

: melatonin, or the “sleepy

: hormone’, so naturally, when I

: wake before the sun’s risen and

: stay up long after its set, I’m more
: tired than in any other season.

’m not exactly a “morning

person.” The unfortunate daily
chore of lugging myself out of
bed becomes all the more difficult
in the winter. In winter, when
I wake up, my eyes tell me it’s
nighttime, and my brain tells me
that if I step out of bed, I'll freeze.
That’s when the sheets start to
feel less like fabric and more like
mail: heavy and protective. It’s
a harsh drain on my willpower
to throw off those sheets, let me
tell you, but reluctance to rise
aside, I’m also more tired overall
in the colder months—but why?
At winter’s darkest the sun rises
at around eight a.m. and sets at

four p.m. That’s only eight hours
of sunshine in total. The weather

Now that we understand

: better, how can we fight the

: fatigue? Most of this advice is

: pretty common sense, the first

: piece being to sleep well. We

: should get eight hours of sleep

: per night. And I know what some
: of you are thinking, “I'll sleep

: even more than eight hours; that

: way, I'll be even more energetic!”

: Wrong! From what I've read,

: this seemingly sensible plan to

: sleep more will backfire. The

: body’s biological clock regulates
: energy usage. If you rest and

: wake at the same times every

: day (and for the recommended

: eight hours), your biological

: clock will know when it needs to
: replenish energy; the opposite

: is true when you oversleep.

Another solution to this

: darkness-induced fatigue is to

: let in as much light as possible—
: open up all the curtains, and

: turn on the lights when it’s dark.
: The general lack of sunlight

: over winter also creates a lack

: of vitamin D in many, which

: causes tiredness. Therefore, eat

: foods that contain vitamin D,

: suchas eggs or salmon. Other

: than sunlight, there are a couple
: environmental factors that

: also contribute to tiredness:

: humidity and temperature. My

: skin becomes absolutely lizard-
: like during the winter, and

: that’s because the air is very dry. :
: Besides growing scales, the dry air :
: affects the mucous membranes

: of the nose, usually causing one

: to instead breathe through the

: mouth while sleeping, which is

: not conducive to healthy sleep.

: A possible solution is to buy a

: humidifier, or, more frugally, to

: put cups of water on the radiator,
: thus creating vapour over time.

Speaking of radiators, if

your bedroom is cold, your
: sleep will suffer. The ideal room

: temperature is 20-22 degrees
: Celsius, but unfortunately for
: me, my mom’s pretty stingy

: about heating at night. When
: I wake up in the winter time,

: I'm lucky if it’s 15 degrees

: inside. So what can I do?

For starters, a heated throw
along with toasty socks and a

: mountain of blankets can go

: along way. Those who don't

: share my circumstances have

: their own problem to worry

: about: too much heat. Make

: sure the temperature isn’t over
: 22 degrees, because too much
: heat will cause the body to crave
: more sleep. Well, that about

: wraps it up. I wish you luck in
: your quest against the cold.