Lenten "re-run"

Hello, everyone, 

Some of you may remember that we did a series of Lenten "health blasts" back in 2012; these were short pieces about issues that support or challenge our health in our daily lives. We are going to be sending these out again - re-running them! - on each Friday in Lent, looking at both the challenges and the strategies that will help us to be our best and healthiest selves. Enjoy!

Darkness and the Return of Light

 Prior to the discovery of making fire, thus providing the first artificial light, the work/play and sleep/wake cycles of our ancestors were dictated by the sun and seasons. The German word “zeitgeber” means, literally, “time giver”; a zeitgeber is an external cue that synchronizes an organism’s internal body clock to the 24-hour light/dark cycle of the planet. Light, both dawn and dusk, is the strongest zeitgeber for plants and animals, humans included.

As fall progresses, the autumnal equinox occurs, when day and night are the same length (mid-September).  Days then get shorter until the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year (mid-December). Daylight then increases every day, with the spring equinox, equal day and night, occurring on March 20 this spring.  Days will continue to lengthen until the summer solstice, the longest day of the year (June 21).

Many people are negatively affected by the absence or diminishing of sunlight, and may experience anything from “winter blues” to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). One theory explains that, with decreased exposure to sunlight, the biological clock that regulates mood, sleep, and hormones is delayed, running more slowly in winter. Another theory speaks to an alteration in brain chemicals. Those wanting to read more about SAD can follow this link: 
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/definition/con-20021047

Many of us find that increasing our exposure to sunlight does indeed help to elevate our mood; our milder winter this year also has provided for many opportunities to open our doors, window blinds, and curtains, and even to be outside. Here at the beginning of March, we are reaping the benefits of lengthening days; our Lenten pilgrimage will thus be accompanied by increasing light of both kinds – sunlight, necessary for our physical and emotional health, and the light of Christ, necessary for our spiritual health, which culminates in the glorious light of Easter.  

Donna Swope

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119, v. 105