CLEVELAND — I recently made a change in my living room, swapping out generic beige shades with frustratingly finicky cords for some dusty rose blackout curtains.
I close them at night for privacy, but my favorite part comes in the morning. I walk into the room and pull the curtains apart in dramatic fashion to let a flood of daylight fill my home.
Recently, there hasn’t been a whole lot of light to be found. Every time I see those gray, sunless skies – I’m not going to lie, it’s a bummer.
It’s been a rough stretch of winter here in Northeast Ohio. We savor our summers so much because we all know the dark days are coming.
Some might embrace the season, exploring snowshoeing, skiing, and other winter things I can’t think of because I don’t particularly care for winter. For the rest of us, we get through it. We’re counting the days until the sunshine returns.
Now it’s become very clear: if you’re struggling right now, you’re far from alone. Did you hear about Elmo’s check-in?
The beloved Sesame Street favorite posted on his official X account, the social media formerly known as Twitter, just to check in on people Monday.
Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?
— Elmo (@elmo) January 29, 2024
The response was overwhelming. Turns out, people are not OK! It was so overwhelming that one News 5 manager wondered – has anyone checked on Elmo’s social media team?
People in the comments shared that they’re tired, they’re lonely, they’re struggling. Not everyone had negative feedback for the Muppet. But a big majority did. While there were plenty of reasons people shared they’re not doing so great at the moment, there were some common themes, including the winter season!
Power of 5 Meteorologist Phil Sakal said we haven’t had a day full of sunshine in Northeast Ohio since December 15, 2023. That’s more than six weeks of gray skies and fog and gloom.
A few times, the sun made a brief appearance, but it didn’t last. It’s no wonder people are feeling down, and this time of year, it’s not uncommon. You’ve probably heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which breaks down to a VERY on-the-nose acronym, SAD.
Today, News 5 Anchor Katie Ussin spoke with Dr. Patrick Runnels from University Hospitals about SAD.
“The sun is a huge part of, not just the Earth, but of our health on the planet, and sunlight is directly related to fluctuations in our mood and our overall motor activity, our desire to get up and get out,” he said.
Basically, the sun is a big deal when it comes to our mental and emotional wellness. It tells us when it’s time to get up and go outside.
When it’s absent, it signals inclement weather that we should stay indoors to avoid. Add that to our tendency to hibernate in the winter and spend our time doomscrolling instead of socializing and getting some good old-fashioned physical activity in, and it’s a recipe for SAD.
“All those things put together can impact our mood,” Runnels said. You can look into some artificial sunlight lamps to get your fix until the real deal reemerges. The doctor also suggested making plans! Don’t just doom scroll on social media, call up a real live human being and connect with them. A phone call would be great, but scheduling plans is even better. Try to figure out a way to stay active, too. Adapt your summertime activities for winter weather, or try something new to get you moving!
“We know exercise is a huge ingredient in staving off bad emotions but also promoting good emotions,” said Runnels. Speaking of ingredients, the cold and gloom might inspire you to lean into comfort foods high in fat and sugar. Hate to break it to you, but those aren’t going to boost your mood. Those kinds of foods are “perfectly fine in moderation,” said Dr. Runnels. “But we see people actually kind of obsessively engage in those and so watching to make sure you’re not overeating and watching to make sure that the mix of foods that you have is nutritionally balanced.”
So, what are our takeaways here?
1. Be like Elmo, check in on someone, and enjoy some human interaction.
2. Even better, schedule some plans.
3. Stay active however you can. I’m a big fan of living room dance parties.
We don’t know how Elmo is doing, but we do know he learned a valuable lesson about giving people a space to vent and told his followers he plans to check in again soon.
As for this producer, I look forward to opening my curtains when I wake up Saturday morning. I hear the sun is ready for a comeback.
