Thoughts on the 'winter blues'

I have been thinking about this tonight, mostly while doing dishes. :) Chip and I both struggle in the winter, it's cold, and the days are short, not a lot of sun. I know a lot of people do, to the point that they even named it - S.A.D - Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I am beginning to think that humans were made to be less active in the winter, to sleep more. Think about it. Before we had cities and grocery stores, people had to raise and grow or hunt and find their food. In the winter there is less natural sources of food. The animals don't produce as much (less eggs and milk) and the majority of vegetation dies. So there is a lack of food and it's colder, both things that would be helped by slowing down. Think of most of the major symptoms of depression, most deal with or rather boil down to a kind of hibernation. You don't want to be about others, have no interest in things, sleep more and so on. I think if we were slowing down more in winter, allowing for the need for more sleep and a slower pace, the depression part of the 'winter blues' wouldn't be so bad. I don't know, haven't completely thought this through, but it does make sense to me.

So no more feeling guilty here about needing more sleep! :) Think I'll use this as a way to take naps with Paul and not feel guilty! Off to finish more dishes.

Julie