Are you SAD?

I know that I am!

At this time of year many people talk about having “the winter blues,” or “the blahs.” Quite a few people will agree that it is normal to feel “a little down” in mid-winter… especially when it seems like Spring will never return, and the skies are grey more often than they are blue.

But some people, myself included, suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as SAD. Research has found that SAD occurs in roughly 20% of people living in mid-northern to northern latitudes (at or above the 45th parallel).

The exact mechanism of SAD is unclear, as is the reason why only some people suffer from it, but there is a strong correlation to the shorter days and general lack of sunlight during the winter months.

Some, like myself, find that they have less energy and are less motivated to do even simple chores around the house. Others find this condition seriously debilitating, and are unable to leave their homes.

The symptoms of SAD are very similar to that of clinical despression, but occur only in the winter months.

Many of the more seriously affected utilize special full-spectrum light banks to simulate sunshine, which aids in the production of vitamin D and serotonin. In some cases antidepressants are prescribed.

I tell you this not to evoke sympathy from you. I am learning to cope with this condition which, as I have mentioned, is not particularly severe.

However…

You will remember that in the fall I wrote several articles comparing Thunder Bay with the Sault. I would like to add one more comparison: winter.

Winters here are not particularly severe, at least in terms of snowfall. The people I have spoken to have commented on the variability of conditions, especially over the past five to ten years. Like people in the Sault and elsewhere, I suspect that their “weather memories” are somewhat vague.

Environment Canada records support their recollections, however, showing an average snowfall of about half that of the Sault.

Temperatures, on the other hand, are typically much colder in Thunder Bay. Where the Sault’s average temperature in January is -10.5 C, Thunder Bay’s is given as -14.8 C. The real difference, however, is in the Extreme Minimum: Sault Ste Marie -36.8 C; Thunder Bay -41.6 C.

In fact, after two days of above-freezing weather here, we are looking at having the temperature drop by about 30 degrees overnight. Wednesday’s forecast is for a high of -21 C, and a low of -27 C… with a windchill of -45 C.

I’ll be breaking out my parka tomorrow.

But I can manage the extreme cold, even if I don’t particularly like it. What I find worse is the length of day here.

I suspected the days would be shorter here, as Thunder Bay is further north than the Sault. But really, it isn’t that much further north. What it is, however, is further west.

Time zones, a creation of Scottish-Canadian engineer, inventor and railroad builder Sir Sandford Fleming, are fairly wide, and are a compromise of solar time in the region they cover. For example, when it is “noon” in any particular time zone is when solar noon occurs (the sun is directly overhead) at the centre of the time zone.

This means that the solar time at the eastern-most edge of the time zone is slightly ahead of the set time, and slightly behind at the western-most edge.

In practical terms, this means that the sun rises earlier in the Sault than it does in Thunder Bay, although it sets later. Not by much, but by enough to be noticeable, especially for those of us who suffer from SAD.

For example: I checked the Sun Rise-Set tables for 1 February.

Rise 8:26 am / Set 5:55 pm -- Thunder Bay
Rise 8:01 am / Set 5:41 pm – Sault Ste Marie

Now, those differences may not seem like much, but I find the 25-minute delay in sun rise is particularly noticeable. The sky does not even begin to lighten here until after 8:00 am. However, there is a distinct advantage to being in Thunder Bay in the summer.

Sun Rise-Set tables for 1 July.

Rise 5:59 am / Set 10:02 pm -- Thunder Bay
Rise 5:48 am / Set 9:34 pm – Sault Ste Marie

While sunrise occurs only a few minutes earlier in the Sault, the sun sets almost a half-hour earlier than it does in Thunder Bay.

Still, I am basically a morning person. I like to get up and be on my way and get things done. While I do like having the sun stay up later in the evening, I really enjoy the sun come up earlier in the morning.

I spent eight years living in Southern Ontario, where the sun rises only a few minutes earlier than it does in the Sault, but sets a half-hour earlier.

Given all the other factors I have discussed in previous articles, the question is: would I live in Thunder Bay?

There are many things I like about Thunder Bay, but I find the later sunrise, especially in the winter months, is hard to take. So my answer is “no.”

On the other hand, will I return to the Sault? Perhaps. Would I head back to Southern Ontario? Again, perhaps.

It really depends on where I can find a job.

Wherever I end up, I know that I would prefer a location where the sun rises at a reasonable hour.

But… that’s just my opinion.