How do you deal with all the darkness, this time of year?
When I was just north of the arctic circle it wasn’t a big deal. ATV’s and snowmachines have headlights on them which is what most people used. Plus it is cold enough that you won’t be outside unless you have a good reason.
Of course I went up as a kid and had lots of family there and since they didn’t mind all the dark I didn’t mind all the dark either.
I found it interesting that people had more of a problem with all the sunlight in the summer. There was no night so people lost track of time; when to go to bed etc. As kids we loved it though.
I know this doesn’t speak to the question, but I just wanted to mention that I spent a week in Tromso, Norway in early September, and was pleasantly surprised at the weather. Daytime high there was 13C at a time when it was 15C in Geneva. This is on account of the gulf stream, which makes the weather much milder than you would expect.
And I saw the Northern Lights too
I grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. It’s not north of the Arctic Circle, but it’s close. We got only a few hours of daylight in midwinter.
How did I deal with it? It honestly confuses me. It gets dark you turn on the lights. It’s just normal for it to be dark in the winter. Just like it’s normal for it to be light in the summer.
Not quite that far north but north enough that our days are down to 6 hours right now. I use a light therapy lamp to reduce my SAD symptons though winter is still always a gloomier time of the year. Other than that I eat vitamin D pills, bitch a lot about short days, sleep a lot, count the days until it starts getting lighter (only three more weeks!) and eat chocolate.
Once we get to late March and beyond though … oh boy. So much light.
I currently live just south of the Arctic circle, though I have lived north of it in the past. To be honest, it’s not that different from where I’m living now. It’s dark when I leave for work, and it’s dark when I leave for home. The sun popping out for a couple hours while I’m at work in a windowless building doesn’t make much of a difference. If I didn’t have to go outside to smoke, I’d never notice.
First of all, I have to point out the obvious. North of the Arctic circle during winter it’s usually fucking cold outside. Unless you’re getting paid to do so, more people are not spending much time out there. Also, this is the 21st century, even in northern Canada. I know some people picture Eskimos in furs, but we have electricity these days. So most people spend most of their time inside, where it’s light and warm. That does lead to cabin fever a bit, and people deal with that in the usual variety of ways. I’m big on WoW, so I at least see a virtual sun daily.
Boogly did hit one nail right on the head though. Winter is the easy one. You can flip a switch and turn on a light. Summer is the one that really throws you. Perma-daylight just throws your internal clock for a loop. I’ve never had insomnia that bad before in my life. It’s never dark unless you hide in a room with no windows … which you tend to not want to do after being cooped up all winter. I was surprised at first when I found out the local schools close over the summer solstice … but after living it, it makes total sense.