Where did the sun go?

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

To compromise for less afternoon daylight I take walks earlier in the morning at about 6:30AM. The sunrise is around 6:45 with the sunset at about 4:10PM on EST.

It's not the lack of daylight that gets to me...
It's when it's daytime and it doesn't feel like daytime that gets me.

*though it would be an improvement if I managed to get up at (the time of)sunrise.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

It's not the lack of daylight that gets to me...
It's when it's daytime and it doesn't feel like daytime that gets me.

*though it would be an improvement if I managed to get up at (the time of)sunrise.

I would say about 1/2 of the days so far in November here have been cloudy. I do know what you mean about darkness in the middle of the day. Right now it is quite cloudy outside and one of my photosensor lights has already turned on at 1PM. I probably have a high tolerance for lower levels of natural light due to my Scandinavian heritage.
I always recommend people to stay as active as possible during the colder months if they are prone to SAD or feel like staying indoors. Any exercise usually helps.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I would say about 1/2 of the days so far in November here have been cloudy. I do know what you mean about darkness in the middle of the day. Right now it is quite cloudy outside and one of my photosensor lights has already turned on at 1PM. I probably have a high tolerance for lower levels of natural light due to my Scandinavian heritage.
I always recommend people to stay as active as possible during the colder months if they are prone to SAD or feel like staying indoors. Any exercise usually helps.

Darkness meaning you look outside and you cannot see shadows,
and you also cannot even get a hint of where the sun could be hiding.
Actually the darkness is not outdoor, rather indoor.

However if it's daytime and it never seems even vaguely bright,
then I count it as dark.

I have Scandinavian heritage too,
but I prefer bright sun and heat indexes at 95+ F most of the year.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Darkness meaning you look outside and you cannot see shadows,
and you also cannot even get a hint of where the sun could be hiding.
Actually the darkness is not outdoor, rather indoor.

However if it's daytime and it never seems even vaguely bright,
then I count it as dark.

I have Scandinavian heritage too,
but I prefer bright sun and heat indexes at 95+ F most of the year.

Hmm, I don't really have indoor darkness issues because I have lots of windows in the house. Passive solar construction is fairly popular in NH with chalet style houses featuring "walls of glass," skylights, south-facing exposures, full sunrooms, etc. House construction has really gotten better with time, especially maximizing solar insulation potential + insulation for northern climate zones. R-19 insulation values are common, but I have seen them as high as R-40 on a house listing in Eagle River, Wisconsin.

Yes, occasionally it can be quite dark in the middle of the day "even" inside, but that is not the norm around here. When it is cloudy we often have broken clouds, and it is fairly light. We get any and all types/varities of weather here and it is not usually one particular sky condition for long periods of time.

In terms of artifical lighting, I generally prefer floodlights and big reading lamps. I can't stand harsh flourescent tubes or blue light, but don't mind the compact flourescent light bulbs. I don't care for halogen and incandescents as much because the bulb life is not that great.