2008 Woodie Awards
Wintry woes
Students, professor get creative to combat bad-weather blues
Krystel Pakitsos
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: After Hours
While regular curling is a sport played on ice in which heavy stones are slid toward a target, Green and his friends take a different approach.
"The last time there was a big ice storm, like six of us went outside and started sliding and hitting each other," Green said. "When it was really bad, we actually had human curling and broke a table.
We put the person on the table and started curling them with brooms."
For when there's more rain than snow, Green has another idea.
"Go outside and slide in the mud," Green said. "It's the funnest thing you can do. Go sliding in the mud."
Tyler Beck, senior in construction management, has learned to take advantage of the bad weather as well.
"I duck hunt or deer hunt," Beck said. "Or if we get a lot of snow, I'll get together with friends and drag each other around on a big tire tube."
Jenae Wurtz, junior in psychology, says she relies on simple pleasures to keep her mood upbeat in winter weather - she enjoys exercising and tanning.
"I do like to tan," Wurtz said. "That gets serotonin in our bodies. If you don't get enough serotonin or sunlight you start not feeling good."
Green says that although winter weather sometimes changes his attitude for the worse, he knows that his cloudy mood will pass.
"You get upset, but what are you gonna do about it?" Green said. "It's Kansas. Wait five minutes."
whatisSAD?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that affects a person during the same season each year. Experts are not sure what causes SAD, but think it might be caused by a lack of sunlight exposure. Lack of light may upset your sleep-wake cycle or change serotonin levels in the brain.
If you have SAD, you might feel sad, moody or anxious, eat more and crave carbohydrates or sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.
For most people with SAD, symptoms start in September or October and end in April or May.
It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between depression and SAD. To diagnose SAD, your doctor will want to know if you have been depressed during the same season and have gotten better when the seasons changed for at least two years in a row.
Doctors often prescribe light therapy to treat SAD. Other treatments include the use of antidepressants or counseling.
Gentle exercise during the daytime, especially first thing in the morning, may help SAD sufferers have more energy and feel less depressed.
Information from webmd.com
"The last time there was a big ice storm, like six of us went outside and started sliding and hitting each other," Green said. "When it was really bad, we actually had human curling and broke a table.
We put the person on the table and started curling them with brooms."
For when there's more rain than snow, Green has another idea.
"Go outside and slide in the mud," Green said. "It's the funnest thing you can do. Go sliding in the mud."
Tyler Beck, senior in construction management, has learned to take advantage of the bad weather as well.
"I duck hunt or deer hunt," Beck said. "Or if we get a lot of snow, I'll get together with friends and drag each other around on a big tire tube."
Jenae Wurtz, junior in psychology, says she relies on simple pleasures to keep her mood upbeat in winter weather - she enjoys exercising and tanning.
"I do like to tan," Wurtz said. "That gets serotonin in our bodies. If you don't get enough serotonin or sunlight you start not feeling good."
Green says that although winter weather sometimes changes his attitude for the worse, he knows that his cloudy mood will pass.
"You get upset, but what are you gonna do about it?" Green said. "It's Kansas. Wait five minutes."
whatisSAD?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that affects a person during the same season each year. Experts are not sure what causes SAD, but think it might be caused by a lack of sunlight exposure. Lack of light may upset your sleep-wake cycle or change serotonin levels in the brain.
If you have SAD, you might feel sad, moody or anxious, eat more and crave carbohydrates or sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.
For most people with SAD, symptoms start in September or October and end in April or May.
It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between depression and SAD. To diagnose SAD, your doctor will want to know if you have been depressed during the same season and have gotten better when the seasons changed for at least two years in a row.
Doctors often prescribe light therapy to treat SAD. Other treatments include the use of antidepressants or counseling.
Gentle exercise during the daytime, especially first thing in the morning, may help SAD sufferers have more energy and feel less depressed.
Information from webmd.com
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