It is National Pizza day !
And
63 degrees in February in Michigan !!!
Related article
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
It is winter the winter solstice in North America. The days are short. The temperature is low. People’s moods are blue. That is because many people have a natural connection between emotions and the weather. The connection has been celebrated in England at Stonehenge. The link between weather and emotions can develop into a condition physiologists call seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.
Susan Albers, a psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic told WTOP that SAD typically manifests as,
Feeling blue or depressed during the winter months. The symptoms appear to be similar to depression but in a milder form and often pass when the season changes again.
Symptoms may include:
Feeling sad or down.Those suffering from SAD report, “…I’m just feeling really down. I’m having a hard time getting up in the morning. I just don’t feel like doing anything.”
According to the American Psychiatric Association, SAD affects about 5% of Americans. Symptoms usually lasts for about 40% of the year. But it’s unclear exactly why it occurs and why some people experience it while others don’t. Dr. Samar McCutcheon, with Ohio State University says that fluctuations in the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain can affect your moods. He explains:
… the causes of winter depression including changes to circadian rhythms that occur with seasonal variations in sunlight, genetic risk and biochemical changes to the levels and processing of serotonin and melatonin in the brain…
Stress can also bring on SAD. Cleveland Clinic’s Albers reports that, “... people who are experiencing stress or a significant change in their lives. These conditions also impact your serotonin levels, which are the feel-good chemicals in the brain.”
Dr. Paul Nestadt, at Johns Hopkins says that how we eat during the winter can be both a trigger and a result of SAD, “We tend to eat more carbohydrates.” Comfort food may be what you are craving during the winter. But reaching for that mac and cheese might actually be contributing to your feelings of seasonal affective disorder. Dr. Albers explains:
… a 2020 study indicated that people who start to feel the blues during the fall due to shorter days, also have a significant change in their eating habits. They also demonstrate a higher frequency of binge and emotional eating, more cravings for starchy food and high-fiber foods.
Dr. Albers recommends her patients change their diet to help combat SAD. Eat more of the following items to fight SAD:
Fresh produce and a balanced diet. During the winter months, eat a balanced diet. Be sure to include good fats like avocados, nuts and olive oil. These fats can help you feel fuller longer and may discourage overeating or carbohydrate cravings.
Fermented foods. People who have increased ‘bad bacteria’ in their gut have higher levels of depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that probiotics can help increase the level of ‘good bacteria.’ Eating fermented foods such as pickles, yogurt, kombucha and sauerkraut can increase ‘good bacteria’ in your gut.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient has been shown to support mood. It also supports bone and immune system health, reduces inflammation and may even lower risk for certain kinds of cancer. Your body actually makes vitamin D in your skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. However, most people in North America stay inside during the winter, making it more challenging to make sure you’re getting enough. One study suggests that more than 18% of people have a vitamin D deficiency.
Dr. Nestadt explains that getting enough vitamin D can be helpful for addressing depressive symptoms in the winter months. He says, “there’s an association with low vitamin D levels and lower mood.” Adjusting your diet to make sure you are getting vitamin D from the foods you eat might go a long way toward a better mood. Vitamin D is present in a variety of foods:
There are a number of lifestyle changes that can help treat SAD. Some activities that can help boost your mood when you’re feeling down this winter include:
Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise. Dr. Albers notes that keeping up with your exercise routine, during the winter can improve symptoms. “Unfortunately … When it gets dark early, people often skip their evening walk or feel unmotivated to go to the gym. This decrease in exercise can exacerbate SAD.”Related article
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
The average American drinks over 3 cups of coffee a day, leading to a lot of used coffee grounds. Coffee is good for more than just waking you up in the morning. Most people throw grounds in the trash but before you throw them away, consider some of the things that can be done with used grounds. Take a look at this list and find the perfect recycling tips and tricks so you can enjoy your coffee again – even after you’ve finished sipping your morning cup of Joe!
Stop Stinks – A whiff of coffee in an unexpected place always puts a smile on my face. You can use coffee grounds to make your environment better. Instructable Living explains how to neutralize funky smells in your fridge, car, gym bag, or any other place that makes your nose wrinkle. You can make a coffee-scented air fresher by collecting dried coffee grounds into an old pair of pantyhose. Not only can coffee grounds get rid of the funk in your fridge – they can get rid of stubborn smells like garlic, onions, or fish from your hands. Just mix a few coffee grounds into your soap and scrub until your fingers no longer smell
Turn Your Plants Blue – According to Healthline, coffee grounds release nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, and other minerals that stimulate plant growth. Coffee grounds also repel insects that might damage those plants. You can sprinkle coffee grounds directly on the soil and turn your Hydrangea blue.
Coffee Slime – Slime is a huge hit, especially with older kids, namely middle school kids. While on the one hand they’re growing up and want to appreciate adult smells/flavors/tastes, like coffee they also have this incredible attraction to the gooey and gross. You can make coffee slime
Catch More Fish – Outdoorsy website Gone Outdoors recommends letting worms wriggle around in coffee grounds for a while before putting them on the hook. They cite “fishing experts,” that almost guarantee anglers will catch a fish if they use coffee-smelling worms as bait. There are even coffee-scented lures on the market.
Walk Safer – If you live in an area where snow and ice are likely to pile up, keep your used coffee grounds handy. Coffee grounds are “green” and don’t cause environmental harm compared to the traditional de-icer salt. Save those grounds and sprinkle them along walking areas this winter. The Farmers Almanac says you can use coffee grounds to melt ice. Java Presse explains that used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, a known ice-melter. More likely though coffee grounds increase friction and reduce your risk of slipping.
Related article
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
The day with the least sunshine, the winter solstice is here. Thursday, December 21, will be the shortest day of 2017 for anyone living north of the equator. Brian Resnick and Brad Plumer at Vox point out that if pagan rituals are your thing, this is probably a big moment for you.
If you are not a druid, the official first day of winter is notable for other reasons. The authors explain that the winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn or 23.5° south latitude. This will occur at exactly 11:28 am Eastern time on December 21, 2017.
Most people know why we have a winter solstice, but for the flat-worlders – the Earth orbits around the sun on a tilted axis (likely because our planet collided with some other massive object billions of years ago, back when it was still being formed).
So between September and March, Earth’s Northern Hemisphere gets less exposure to direct sunlight over the course of a day. The rest of the year, the north gets more direct sunlight and the Southern Hemisphere gets less. It’s the reason for the seasons.
How much sunlight you get on the winter solstice, depends on where you live. The farther north from the equator you are, the less sunlight you’ll get during the solstice — and the longer the night will be. Alaska climatologist Brian Brettschneider created this terrific guide for the United States.
If you live near the Arctic Circle, like my friend Mari, you’ll barely get any daylight during the solstice. Fairbanks, Alaska, for instance, will get three hours and 41 minutes. (If you live north of the circle, you’ll get none at all.)
For me, the reason the winter solstice is most notable, it marks the official first day of winter and the arrival of the coldest days of the year — usually in January or February, depending on where you live.
There’s a delay between when there’s the least sun and when the air temperatures are actually coldest. A big reason for this “seasonal lag” is that the Earth’s massive oceans absorb much of the sun’s energy and release it slowly, over time. The same thing happens in summer — there’s a delay between when solar insolation is at its most (the summer solstice in June) and when the hottest months are (usually July or August).
Today the solstices largely pass without much hoopla. But 5,000 years ago it meant a great deal to the druid and pagan inhabitants of the British Isles. The early Brits built Stonehenge which experts say marked ancient solstices and equinoxes. That’s because the structure is directly aligned toward the sunset during the winter solstice. (The sun also rises directly over the Heel Stone during the summer solstice.)
Teresa Wilson of the American Astronomical Society told the authors:
While the summer solstice draws a larger crowd, the winter solstice may have been more important to the ancient builders. At this time, cattle were slaughtered so the animals did not need to be fed through the winter, and wine and beer made previously had finally fermented.
Even today, humans still gather to pay homage to the winter solstice at Stonehenge.
rb-
At least the winter solstice at Stonehenge looks like a pretty good party. If you like sleeping in, it can arguably be one of the most exciting days of the winter. No annoying sun bothering you in the morning.
Related article
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
