Saturdays With Shal, Avoiding the Cold Winter Blues

Daniels, I’m back! On this brand-new segment of Saturdays with Shal, I wanted to first off say Happy Holidays and I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing and restful break. I would most likely start the first SWS post of 2017 with some “New Year, New You” cheese but instead I’m gonna focus on the weather. Yes, that thing that wins the award for "Most Common Small-Talk Topic" every year. But it’s still important to acknowledge the seriousness of Canadian Winters. How have you been feeling? I’m sure you’ve heard of SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. According to U of Michigan, it’s quite common amongst Northern States with cold climates (which is also us) and includes "low mood, lack of energy and increased sleeping and eating (U of Mich)." There are quite a few quick fixes and if you want to learn more, I have attached the link below. Back to the small-talk winner, this particular winter in Toronto has been bonkers cold. Which is saying something coming from the kid that lives in Saskatchewan. University of Michigan’s biggest advice is "keeping your fingers, toes, nose and ears covered and warm” (U of Mich)." If you’re hitting the town, be sure to bring a jacket and use cabs or transit as much as possible. If you want to avoid leaving your dwelling at all costs, be sure to do fun and stimulating activities such as boardgames, decorating, cleaning, organizing for the new semester [yeah right Shal], etc. Go have fun at places like indoor recreation facilities (sidenote: I really want to try axe throwing) and friends' houses. That’s it for this week Daniels, stay warm and stay classy out there.

https://www.uhs.umich.edu/sad
https://www.uhs.umich.edu/tips-for-low-temps