Surviving the winter and the darkness of Sweden
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 22:52 Tags:
It struck me today how hard the darkness and the cold weather is on children, how hard it is on all of us.
The kids start school at 8.15 - 8.30am and while it is currently still light, it won’t be long before we will be watching the sun rise on our way to school in the mornings.
My kids are picked up most days by 3.30pm and by the time we walk and get the train we are usually home by 4pm. It is well and truly dark by then in November and the cold, biting wind that rips through the naked trees or the rain that pelts down only make it all the less charming. These late afternoons are often filled with tears, tantrums and tiredness….
The lack of light plays its toll on our bodies and our minds, depleting our supply of vitamins and minerals, as well as the joy that the sun and daylight bring. Everyone looks pale, dark around the eyes and complains of being so much more tired than usual. We get coughs and colds, flu’s and stomach bugs. The immune system is weakened and skin starts to get dry and itchy.
November is without doubt the toughest month of the year. Not only is it getting darker each day but also because the days are so grey. I heard the expression “greylight” today, someone asked how many hours of greylight we have in Sweden at the moment. It pretty much sums things up.
Come December we have Christmas to think about and plan for. And we have lights: advent candles, Lucia, stars in windows and Christmas tree lights to brighten up our life and lift our spirits.
In January the temperature drops and the snow comes to most of the country. We ski, we ice-skate, we walk and the days are longer.
February often brings us longer sunnier days, fabulous for spending out on the slopes, the tracks, the rinks or the lakes. And it’s a good thing too because by February the battery is almost completely depleted of energy.
November is grey and dull.
The optimists amongst us tell us it is a great time of the year. Time to come inside and light candles, drink hot chocolate, read, watch movies or curl up by the fire if you are lucky enough. It’s so mysigt (cosy) they say.
But how do the rest of us survive the long, darkest, coldest part of the year?
Here’s my list:
- Light therapy. You can buy sunlights at well-stocked appliance stores or online. There are also a few around the country and light therapy centres around the country. Search on ljusterapi + café or + center or + behandling.
- Escape to a warmer, sunnier place sometime over the winter. If you can’t manage that plan some sort of holiday, or weekend away. Go to the snow, go to another city, go the country. Spend the weekend on one of the cruise ships wandering around without a jacket and gloves! It is fantastic how much a change of scenery lifts our spirits even when the weather is at its worst.
- Vitamin supplements – available from health food stores (häslokost butiker), online or bring your favorite kind with you.
- Fish oil (fiskolja) – it is fantastic and really boosts the kids’ immune systems. They are less susceptible and if they get something they are not sick as long. A worthwhile investment for all the family and vegetarian alternatives exist such as flax seed oil.
- Evening primrose oil - winter is hard on skin and the colder it gets the dryer my skin gets until my fingers are like sandpaper with cracks at the end of them. No amount of hand cream helps. The only cure is nattljusoljataken orally, daily.
- Eat well. Nothing will bring you down as far and as fast as a poor diet. Lots of fruit and vegetables, and warming nutritious meals. Great time for curries and any other spicy food to warm you from the inside.
- Sleep well. Sleep deprivation does terrible things to us at the best of times. You will need to be regularly getting enough sleep to keep your energy levels up. Make sure the kids get enough rest too. Earlier to bed rather than later.
- Plan lots of events well in advance. Go to the theatre, movies, museums or anything else that is around. Meet friends there. Plan dinner parties with friends where you play games or just curl up by the fire and talk.
- Take a course, join a club. Be active.
- Have rituals and celebrate the seasons with Halloween, All Saints Day, First Advent and anything else that comes along. Make them your own celebrations; make up your own celebrations. They brighten life up and they mark the time.
- Make the most of the sun as soon as you see it, because you never know when it will be back again. Any indoor activities can wait until another time, another day. If the sun is shining go outdoors.
- Learn from the kids – Swedish kids are used to being out all year round and want to go out no matter what the weather. “There is no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing” is a famous Swedish saying that is fitting for this time of year. Force yourself to get out regularly, rug up and be suitably dressed. Take up an outdoor sport – it will make a huge difference to your ability to enjoy this long season.
- Know that this too will come to an end and keep an eye on the daylight hours. Know that you will rejoice like never before when the sun, the daylight, the birds, the flowers and the leaves return to us. Winter here gives you a whole new appreciation for the rebirth of nature, the survival of the species. To see bulbs pop up through the snow, buds appear on dormant trees and to hear the chirping from the early morning to the late hour brings joy, and gratefulness. And sighs of great relief.
Good luck this winter.
