How to Deal with Darkness?

Getting through the night

You know, we Nordics know a thing or two about living in the dark. Here’s a step-by-step method to getting through it.

There are some darkness sayings from Reneturrek and those may be a way to know how to deal with the darkness.

The obscurity

Outsiders find the Scandinavian winter hard. Consider snow, ice, more snow, storms, and eventually complete darkness… Even in southern Denmark, the weather is rather gloomy from October to March. Some may believe it’s difficult to live so far north in the frigid north, but the sleet and perpetual grey of Copenhagen aren’t any better. Scandinavians have had to devise methods to live with everything being covered in some type of constant dark tint. No matter how you look at it, five months of winter is a long time.

Accept it as is.

The first step is to acknowledge that there will be no daylight. Because it’s dreary and sleety even though it’s not truly dark. Is there such a thing as sleety? It ought to be. It sleets and showers horizontally in certain places (looking at you, Gothenburg), which may be dismal. Snow, on the other hand, is not so horrible since it reflects light and therefore brightens the sky. The sleet and rain are the true downers.

Knowing it will be dark ahead of time can help you avoid the winter blues. Fatigue, lethargy, despair, and a lack of desire to accomplish anything, least of all interact with others, are some of the symptoms. Accept it — and instead of attempting to halt the winter waves, establish a strategy to ride them.

Gather in a huddle

It’s usually safer to be in a group, so cuddle up like penguins. Make preparations to spend the gloomy nights with your fellow penguins so that you are not alone. Make arrangements to do things after work, even if it’s just for an hour. Join a brass band, practice yoga, or paint still lifes. Anything. We’re all in this together, and it’s perfectly OK to talk about the weather for an hour every day: it actually helps.

Take a walk outdoors.

Weekends should be filled with lengthy walks, treks, and – if there isn’t any ice – some terrific bike rides. Go for a snow run or just a run in the woods or around the lakes. Participate in sports. Make your body move. Even if it’s dark, walk to work. During your lunch break, go for a stroll. Make sure you don’t stop attending the gym or your brass band practice — both of these activities can help you release positive sentiments in your body and mind, which will help you get through the difficult times. If you’re feeling down, a nice, quick stroll can re-energize you and kick winter depression right in the nuts. Scandinavians spend a lot of time outside, particularly in the cold, all year. Why do you believe we can ski so well?

Keep an eye on the sun.

Make sure you receive adequate sunshine exposure. Don’t squander your weekend daylight hours, and make sure you take a lunch break during the week to go outdoors for 15 minutes while it’s still light. Don’t overlook it.

Cozy up and hygge

Add candles to the mix at home. And there are plenty of little lights strewn around to create that all-important hygge vibe. Fill your environment with things that bring you joy. If you wish to, you may practice your tuba here. Alternatively, you might watch reruns of The Bridge, spend time with your family, eat substantial meals, and treat yourself by retiring to bed early every now and again.

Consume nutritious foods.

It’s natural to grab for the chips when you’re feeling down. Crisps are only permitted on Friday nights in Scandinavia, and sweets are only allowed on Saturdays, so try to eat sensibly the rest of the week. Stick to the excellent basics and plenty of smoked and pickled fish and vegetables since there isn’t much in the way of fresh local stuff. “Carrots will help me see in the dark,” is a mantra that can work for you on a different level.

Set goals for yourself

Let Christmas be the first milestone you look forward to if the changing of the clocks signals the start of the winter season. It’s difficult not to get sucked in by the allure of it all — the candles, the hygge, the overall pleasantness. Look forward to the Lent season, which is full with cream cakes, after Christmas. After that, Easter arrives, and you may look forward to the last skiing of the season. And now it’s nearly Midsummer, and we’re all done. See? Was it really that bad?

To shatter the gloom, all you need is a little light.

When the streetlights are on all the time and all the homes have lights outside and in the windows 24 hours a day, the night takes on wonderful quality. Towns are illuminated by lights at all hours of the day and night. Don’t be afraid of the dark; it will give way to light. And in the dark, all light shine brighter and stronger. If you let it, the Scandinavian winter will carry you through – and enable you to reconnect with the other penguins in your life. Accept it, embrace it, and make the most of it.

Ensure that you are getting adequate vitamin D.

During the gloomy months of the year, it’s especially vital to eat well. Healthy eating may also assist you in coping. Fruits and berries are the finest options when you’re craving something sweet. Have you tried Finnish blueberries yet? They are harvested fresh from the forest and are also sold frozen in local markets

Making sure you receive adequate vitamin D is very crucial. Between October and March in Finland, you won’t receive much of it from the sun, but you may obtain it through the correct meals and vitamin supplements. Unsaturated fats are also beneficial to the mind and heart.

Anticipate the lengthening of the days.

Always remember that the gloom of the season is only transitory. Around the 21st of December, the winter solstice occurs, signaling the end of the worst. The days begin to lengthen again shortly after the spring equinox on March 20th, slowly at first, approximately five minutes every week, but by the spring equinox on March 20th, the length of the days in Helsinki has increased by roughly six minutes per day.