It is gray. The weather is mild, but the clouds have been everywhere for about ten days and we are all starting to suffer from the lack of sun. What are the effects on our morale? Is this gray weather abnormal?
According to Julien Chartrand, meteorologist at Environment Canada, we have been living through a rather atypical winter so far with milder than normal temperatures. “It’s not just an impression, there has been a real lack of sunshine since the storm of December 23, throughout Quebec,” he said straight away in an interview. The forecast, however, calls for sunshine in several regions on Tuesday.
“The province’s weather scenario was warmer than normal with more disruption. This system brought us snow, strong winds, blowing snow, and we had very little sun. The thaw arrived, with warm air, humidity and clouds until last Sunday… We expected to have sun in Montreal, but we had low clouds which persisted along the Lawrence Valley, but elsewhere in Quebec, it was a beautiful day,” says Julien Chartrand.
The meteorologist finds that our winters are normally cold and dry, which brings beautiful sunny days that are the beauty of winter. “When there is a cold air mass, it’s drier and sunnier, that’s where we have our beautiful days with sunshine, but there hasn’t been this cold air mass since the start of the season, except since Sunday. »
We stayed in the depression corridor, with a succession of systems that brought us cloud cover and precipitation.
Julien Chartrand, meteorologist at Environment Canada
The effects of lack of sunlight
Does it affect mood? “Yes, because our body needs the sun,” replies psychologist Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier. “When the number of hours of sunshine is reduced, it affects the decrease in activity of serotonin in our brain, which is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and our emotional state”, explains the one who is also a professor. associated with the University of Quebec in Montreal.
The change of season and the lack of light also have an impact on the level of melatonin, which is the hormone linked to the sleep cycle, which can be disturbed.
When we sleep badly, we are tired. One of the important factors in regulating mood is being fit. If we are tired, we will be impatient and have a short fuse, which will not be pleasant.
Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, psychologist
The psychologist makes another observation: we are less likely to go outside when it is gray, and even to see people. It then becomes difficult to keep our good mood. “Even if we don’t suffer from seasonal depression, we can see that we are affected by this lack of sunshine. We can have depressive manifestations in the fact of not wanting to go out or see our friends, being more tired, having a more gloomy mood. Without wanting to add to it, because of the rain and the ice, we were not able to take advantage of the outdoor activities. The parks’ ice rinks are impassable, and we couldn’t go skating with the children either. »
On social media, many people are fed up with this depressing weather. MétéoMédia also has fun doing riddles: “He has hardly shown his nose for more than ten days in southern Quebec. It inspired several songs, including one by the Beatles. What is it about ? “, could we read at the beginning of the week on the Facebook page of MétéoMédia.
“People don’t call us to complain, but we feel that this lack of light is depressing, even if […] some people appreciate the mildness of these temperatures,” said meteorologist Julien Chartrand. He warns us that there will be another succession of cloudy days with precipitation…
What to do to be less affected by the lack of sun?
“Don’t wait for the sun to go outside, because it feels good to get some fresh air, to move, to walk, to go for a walk with friends. It’s effective for replenishing your energy, because you need to be outside,” advises psychologist Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier. She believes that it is important to take care of yourself and have fun, because the month of January, with or without sunshine, is always a difficult time of the year, since it is difficult to pick up the pace after celebrations. “Treat yourself, whether it’s socializing, you can invite friends over for the galette des Rois, put on some music and dance in your living room, cook a comforting meal or watch a movie, preferably a comedy!” »